Brazil’s Lula defies odds to clinch victory over Bolsonaro

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RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pulled off a dramatic comeback on Sunday as he clinched election victory against right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who trounced him in the first round.

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The leftist icon, who turns 81 on Tuesday, defied all projections to win an unprecedented fourth term at the helm of Latin America’s largest country.

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According to official results, he won 51.75% of the votes to 48.25% for Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who had entered election day confident with his lead in the polls.

With Lula’s victory, Brazil staved off a conservative wave that has seen numerous countries — such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru — all shift right, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

After a campaign marred by scandal and mud-slinging, Sunday’s vote plunged into chaos after a last-minute Supreme Court ruling extending voting by two hours, at the request of Lula who said buses had been pulled from circulation in various cities, barring citizens from voting.

Flavio Bolsonaro also requested an extension in some parts of the country due to heavy rains, but his camp lashed out at the countrywide extension.

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“Either we win. Or we win. Consider yourself warned,” pro-Bolsonaro lawmaker Nikolas Ferreira wrote on X as the votes streamed in.

The bitter campaign laid bare the deep divisions in the country of over 200 million people.

“It’s a disgrace. We’ve never had anything like this in Brazil, and now they’ve come up with the idea of extending the election period by two hours,” said Aurelio Junior, 45, a dentist in Brasilia.

Jacqueline Maria Lima de Franca, 34, a business owner in Rio de Janeiro backing Lula, said it was “more than fair … everyone should have the right to vote, and that was being neglected.”

Lula rises from the ashes again

Lula, a defining figure in Brazilian politics over four decades, was blindsided after his first-round defeat to Bolsonaro.

The left swung into action with massive rallies declaring “Never Again Bolsonaro,” where protesters recalled the former president’s chaotic handling of the COVID pandemic, devastation of the Amazon rainforest and cuts to public programs.

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Lula also revamped his social media strategy by taking video selfies and even buying his first cellphone, while supporters carried out a feverish campaign to change the minds of family, friends and neighbours, and encourage them to vote after high levels of abstention.

His re-election marks another remarkable comeback for the man who grew up dirt poor in the northeast in a family of illiterate farmers.

Lula, revered for social welfare programs that lifted millions out of poverty, made a dramatic return to office in 2022 elections after a corruption scandal saw him jailed for over 18 months.

The charges, annulled on procedural grounds, have continued to haunt him.

In his third term he has overseen a drop in inflation and unemployment, and lifted millions out of hunger, but voters complain about the cost of living and a sense of insecurity.

Lula’s social policies became a point of tension as he expanded welfare programs during the campaign.

“Brazil needs more time with Lula, primarily because the country is on the verge of falling into the clutches of fascism,” Maria Fernanda Elisbao, a 21-year-old editorial assistant, told AFP.

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A tricky term ahead

Lula heads into a fourth term with a country divided, with almost half of the nation voting against him and desperate for change.

“We’re in a deep hole, things are dire. People can barely afford to eat — buying meat is out of the question,” said Tereza Cristina Ramos, a 68-year-old retiree, who voted in Rio de Janeiro.

Already one of the world’s oldest leaders, Lula will be 85 by the end of his new term in 2030.

He will thus have spent 16 years in power, following his first stint as president from 2003 to 2010.

Lula is also facing a hostile Congress dominated by the right.

His options are also constrained by the economic outlook, with growth expected to slow.

He has also come under renewed pressure to confront rampant insecurity in a country plagued by criminal factions that sow terror in working-class neighbourhoods.

The president’s campaign leaned heavily on the theme of sovereignty in the face of commercial and diplomatic pressure from the U.S.

Voters must “choose a country where the flag is respected,” he said, his raspy voice more hoarse than ever after a tireless campaign. He accused his rival of wanting to “govern with the American flag.”

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