Lula Secures Fourth Term in Brazil
The 80-year-old leftist defeated Senator Flavio Bolsonaro with 51 percent of the vote, ending a tight race that was marred by a last-minute extension of voting hours.
By David Sullivan ·
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has secured a record fourth non-consecutive term as Brazil’s president. The 80-year-old leftist defeated Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, in Sunday’s runoff election. Electoral authorities declared Lula the winner with more than 51 percent of the vote, while Bolsonaro captured 48 percent. The official tally was released after 98.76 percent of ballots were counted.
The path to victory was unexpected. On October 4, Bolsonaro won the first round with 47.03 percent of the vote, edging out Lula’s 45.16 percent. That gap represented 2.2 million votes. In the weeks that followed, Lula focused on cost of living issues and his social programs to win back stay-at-home voters. No other candidate in modern Brazilian history has finished second in the first round and then won the runoff.
The final hours of voting were complicated by a sudden decision to extend polling hours. Voting was originally scheduled to end at 5 p.m. Brasilia time. Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered stations to remain open until 7 p.m. Both campaigns had requested more time, but the order arrived after some locations had already closed their machines. Zanin later clarified that stations that had already shut down would remain closed, causing confusion at some sites.
Lula’s team blamed local officials for cutting public transport in several cities, making it harder for lower-income voters to reach polling stations. Bolsonaro’s campaign cited heavy rain and flooding as reasons for delays. In Minas Gerais, 349 polling locations lost electricity, though voting machines continued to operate on backup batteries. The Federal Police are investigating transport disruptions in five states, and a court in Salvador has ordered the arrest of the city’s transport secretary over alleged bus service cuts.
Bolsonaro has already moved to challenge the result. He accused Zanin of judicial malfeasance, noting that the justice served as Lula’s personal lawyer before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 2023. "He changes the rules of the game mid-game," Bolsonaro said. He told supporters that it is impossible to recognize the election results. Donald Trump Jr., son of U.S. President Donald Trump, also criticized the extension on social media.
Turnout played a role in the outcome. Andrei Roman, head of polling firm AtlasIntel, noted a drop in abstention helped Lula. In the first round, an estimated 33.4 million Brazilians, or 21 percent of the electorate, did not vote. That was the highest abstention rate in a general election since 1998. Lula also made late promises to his working-class base, including free public transport on weekends.
The result impacts U.S. interests in Latin America. Reuters reported that State Department officials had pushed for sanctions against Brazil to weaken Lula. President Trump said on Sunday that he was watching the situation. Lula framed his campaign around defending Brazilian sovereignty against foreign interference, citing Trump’s tariffs and comments on the Bolsonaro trial. In his victory speech, Lula called the election a defeat for denialism and lies.
The race remains legally contested. Bolsonaro has pledged to annul the vote. The judicial system is described as divided, suggesting that political negotiation will be required to resolve the dispute. Lula is set to begin a new term, but the legal challenges may delay the formal transition of power.
Source: Al Jazeera
