Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has secured a dramatic election victory over right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who defeated him in the first round of voting.
Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, defied projections to win an unprecedented fourth presidential term in Latin America’s largest country.
Official results showed Lula winning 51.75 per cent of the votes, compared with 48.25 per cent for Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who had entered election day confident after leading in opinion polls.
Lula’s victory prevents Brazil from joining a conservative political shift that has affected several countries, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru, with US President Donald Trump backing right-wing movements.
The election followed a campaign marked by scandals and personal attacks. Sunday’s vote was also thrown into confusion after a last-minute Supreme Court ruling extended voting by two hours at Lula’s request. He had argued that the withdrawal of buses from circulation in several cities was preventing citizens from reaching polling stations.
Flavio Bolsonaro also sought an extension in some areas because of heavy rainfall, but his campaign criticised the nationwide decision.
“Either we win. Or we win. Consider yourself warned,” pro-Bolsonaro lawmaker Nikolas Ferreira wrote on X as vote counting continued.
The contentious campaign exposed deep divisions in a country of more than 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, a 45-year-old dentist in Brasilia.
Jacqueline Maria Lima de Franca, a 34-year-old business owner in Rio de Janeiro who supported Lula, described the extension as “more than fair…everyone should have the right to vote, and that was being neglected.”
Lula stages another political comeback
Lula, a prominent figure in Brazilian politics for more than four decades, faced an unexpected setback when he lost the first round to Bolsonaro.
The left responded with large rallies under the slogan “Never Again Bolsonaro”. Protesters highlighted the former president’s handling of the Covid pandemic, the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and cuts to public programmes.
Lula also changed his social media approach, recording video selfies and purchasing his first mobile phone. His supporters mounted an intensive campaign to persuade relatives, friends and neighbours to back him and encouraged voters to participate following high levels of abstention.
His re-election marks another significant comeback for the leader, who grew up in poverty in northeastern Brazil in a family of illiterate farmers.
Lula is widely associated with social welfare programmes credited with lifting millions of people out of poverty. He returned to office after winning the 2022 election, following a corruption scandal that resulted in him spending more than 18 months in prison.
The charges were later annulled on procedural grounds, although the controversy has continued to follow him.
During his third term, Lula oversaw falling inflation and unemployment and helped millions emerge from hunger. However, voters have continued to raise concerns about the cost of living and insecurity.
His social policies also became a major point of debate during the campaign as he expanded welfare programmes.
“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.
Challenges await Lula’s fourth term
Lula begins his fourth term with Brazil deeply divided, as nearly half of voters supported his opponent and called for political 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 among the world’s oldest leaders, Lula will be 85 by the end of his new term in 2030. He will have spent 16 years as president, including his first two terms from 2003 to 2010.
His next administration will face a hostile Congress dominated by right-wing lawmakers, while the economic outlook is expected to constrain policy options as growth slows.
Lula is also under renewed pressure to tackle widespread insecurity in a country where criminal groups have spread fear across working-class neighbourhoods.
His campaign focused heavily on national sovereignty amid commercial and diplomatic pressure from the United States under Trump.
Voters must “choose a country where the flag is respected,” Lula said during the campaign, his voice hoarse after an exhausting election contest. He accused his rival of wanting to “govern with the American flag.”