Lula received more than four million more votes than Bolsonaro in the second round of elections in Brazil
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Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won a fourth term in office in Brazil, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro in the latest run-off election. Following Lula – who won 51.79 per cent of the vote – being declared president, opponent Flávio Bolsonaro said the result was ‘inexplicable’, calling for it to be annulled.
‘We are going to change the way that this country is governed … This election was a defeat for denialism … I want to thank God and to thank you, Brazilian men and women of this country … it was democracy that made this happen,’ said Lula to his supporters on Sunday (25 October).
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In the first round of voting earlier this month, President Lula came second with 45 per cent of the votes, while Bolsonaro received 47 per cent. However, in the second round on Sunday, Lula had a 4.4 million vote advantage. Since the 1980s, Brazil has never seen a first-round runner-up win the second vote.
Voting in the run-off was extended by two hours. Bolsonaro’s team cited poor weather in the south, while Lula’s team raised concerns about a shortage of buses in several cities.
Between the two rounds of voting, Lula rose from second to first place in more than 200 municipalities. Lula also increased his vote share in all nine Brazilian states, with Bahia showing the largest gain.
One reason for Lula’s turnaround could be a viral WhatsApp channel known as ‘Lula’s Army’, which circulated content ‘favourable to the president‘ in the run-up to the second round of voting. Congressman André Janones would urge members to share posts and invite new members to the channel, which eventually reached more than 10 million followers.
Lula first became Brazil’s president in 2002, but stepped down after the maximum of two consecutive terms. In 2022, he became president again after defeating Flávio Bolsonaro’s father, Jair Bolsonaro.
Through his previous presidencies, Lula has been praised for alleviating poverty in Brazil through a cash-transfer programme. However, he was also convicted of corruption and sent to prison for more than 18 months – convictions eventually annulled in 2021.
Flávio Bolsonaro, a member of the right-wing Liberal Party, has mainly focused on crime and the economy in his campaign, advocating for longer sentences for criminals and more relaxed gun laws so that ‘decent citizens’ can defend themselves from criminals. He is also the son of Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing former Brazilian president currently serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula.
