Lula pulls off a historic comeback in Brazil and leads the left to victory over Jair Bolsonaro

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, Brazil’s president and one of the most influential politicians in Latin America this century, achieved the comeback he had been seeking on Sunday. Lula defeated Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, the political heir to the far-right Bolsonaro clan, with 51.7% of the vote to 48.2%, a margin of four million votes. He has become the first president in Brazil’s history to win after losing the first round of a presidential election. Only Emperor Pedro II and Getúlio Vargas governed the country for longer. The leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) has secured a fourth term, dealt a blow to the far right, and reaffirmed his political strength despite the deep animosity he inspires among many Brazilians. Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, will govern a deeply divided Brazil and further establish himself as a standard-bearer of progressive politics in the era of Donald Trump.“I want to thank the Brazilian people for the generosity they have shown me for so long. I want to thank the young people who took to the streets to defend democracy, and the elderly who went out to vote,” Lula said in his victory speech at a hotel in São Paulo. “This election is a defeat for denialism and lies,” he declared, adding that it “shows we are nobody’s backyard.” The president, who last week began using the first mobile phone of his life, acknowledged the role that social media mobilization played in the outcome. “We overcame interference from abroad, from the digital platforms,” he said, referring to Instagram and WhatsApp’s alleged favoritism toward Bolsonaro.Lula was still addressing the nation when Flávio Bolsonaro appeared in Brasília to call for the election to be annulled. “It is impossible to recognize the result,” he said.Lula’s victory came after a nail-biting count, following a vote that was extended by two hours on a judge’s order. Lula had petitioned the courts after problems with public transportation and restrictions imposed in some cities. “We will not allow theft, nor mayors without scruples,” the president said. “These people have to learn to respect democracy.”The extension of voting hours, ordered by a judge just minutes before the official closing time of the polls, sparked chaos and confusion. Polling stations closed at 7 p.m. Brasília time, and the count began with the country on edge as it awaited an uncertain outcome.That chaos is likely to fuel doubts about the vote. “If they don’t stage a coup against us, we’ll win,” said Rafael Nunes, a 40-year-old electrical engineer, at a polling station in São Paulo. He was wearing a yellow Brazil national team jersey with Bolsonaro’s number 22 on the back. During the campaign, Flávio Bolsonaro raised questions about the reliability of Brazil’s voting system, though with far less intensity than his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted for attempting a coup.The former metalworker and union leader who helped lift millions of Brazilians out of poverty fought for this victory until the very end, but governing may prove to be a nightmare. He faces a colossal challenge. Yet he learned from his mother, Dona Lindu, never to give up. Nor is he known for holding grudges.He will govern a country split down the middle and confront a Congress in which the Bolsonaros’ Liberal Party (PL) holds a record majority and has the ability to shape the Supreme Court through judicial appointments. Brazil is also surrounded almost entirely by ideological adversaries, with progressive Uruguay the lone exception, while U.S. President Donald Trump is pressing ahead with efforts to expand U.S. influence across Latin America.Under the slogan “Brazil Is Ready for More,” Lula has secured another term. This was Lula’s final election campaign. With Brazilian law barring him from seeking re-election in 2030 and with the president set to leave office at 85, the role of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin takes on added significance. A veteran of the center-right, the 73-year-old is a conservative Catholic and a longtime fixture of Brazilian politics.Lula framed the campaign as a battle to defend democracy against the Bolsonaro clan, its brand of obscurantism and exclusionary politics, and the risks that movement poses for half of Brazil’s population.This is a breaking story. Please refresh your browser for more updates.