Lula Overcomes Turnout Gap to Take Brazil's Presidency
The 80-year-old candidate erased a 2.2 million vote deficit from the first round to defeat Flávio Bolsonaro by 4.3 million votes.
By Aisha Rahman ·
Brazil’s political cycle has reset as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva claimed a fourth term, reversing a narrow first-round loss to secure the presidency. With 99% of ballots counted, Lula received 51.75% of the vote against 48.25% for his opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro.
The election outcome breaks a historical pattern in Brazilian democracy. Since the country returned to democratic rule in the 1980s, no candidate who placed second in the first round had ever won the subsequent runoff. Lula had trailed by 2.2 million votes in early October. He finished the runoff with a 4.3 million vote advantage.
The shift in results correlates with changes in voter turnout. The first round recorded a record 21.08% abstention rate, a figure that penalized Lula’s base because many of his supporters live far from polling stations. In the runoff, abstention dropped to 19.21%. Lula’s allies identified higher participation as their primary path to victory.
Reginaldo Lopes, a senior ally of the president, described the confirmation as a moment where Brazil sent a message about the extreme right. He stated the country would now reorganize its democratic forces. This result disrupts plans for the Bolsonaro family, as Jair Bolsonaro, the father of the defeated candidate, serves a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup. He had anticipated a role in government if his son had won.
The defeat also alters the regional political map for US President Donald Trump. Trump had sought to align Brazil with other pro-Trump leaders in Latin America, including Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia, Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, José Antonio Kast in Chile, and Javier Milei in Argentina.
Public mobilization preceded the final vote. More than one million people gathered on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday, while a larger crowd marched on Paulista Avenue in São Paulo. These rallies followed weeks of student-led protests against the Bolsonaro faction. On Sunday evening, hundreds returned to Paulista Avenue to observe the count.
Tensions arose in São Paulo regarding an alleged attempt by pro-Bolsonaro politicians to disrupt voting by sabotaging public transport in areas that favor Lula. The effort failed to stop the vote. Caio Marques, a 40-year-old photographer from Franca, noted that the left woke up during the second round, contrasting with their performance in the first.
Source: The Guardian
