Lula wins Brazil presidency with 51.8 percent of vote

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president who turns 81 on Tuesday, secured a non-consecutive fourth term on Sunday. Brazil’s electoral court confirmed the result with 100 percent of the vote counted, showing Lula leading Flávio Bolsonaro by nearly 4.4 million votes. Lula received 51.8 percent of the total vote. The victory maintains a distance between Latin America’s largest economy and Washington, as Lula remains a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The confirmation of the results ended a chaotic evening at polling stations across the country. Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ruled three minutes before the scheduled end of voting to keep polls open for two more hours. The decision followed requests from both candidates. Lula sought the extension due to transportation issues in São Paulo and Salvador, while Bolsonaro cited heavy rains in the south. The late ruling delayed the tallying of votes and left many voters and officials unsure of the timeline.

Flávio Bolsonaro stated after the results were announced that he wants the election annulled because of the extension. Nikolas Ferreira, a Bolsonaro ally, noted that Zanin is Lula’s former lawyer. In Rio de Janeiro, voting machines had already been switched off minutes after the original closing time and could not be turned back on. In Brasilia, volunteers at a school debated whether to stay for the extended period, with most leaving 15 to 20 minutes after polls closed.

Lula addressed supporters to express gratitude and pledge to respect all Brazilians regardless of gender or religion. He criticized his opponent, saying, "This was a defeat for denialism and lies. I must confess that every time I attended a debate, I felt embarrassed." Lula emphasized Brazil’s sovereignty, stating, "Either the homeland remains free or we die for Brazil. This country will not accept being anyone's backyard."

The outcome bucks a regional trend where right-of-centre candidates allied with Trump have been winning. The victory leaves Brazil and Mexico, the two most populous nations in Latin America, with left-of-centre leaders. Brazil’s GDP is $2.6 trillion per year. Rodrigo Valentim, a 51-year-old businessman and Bolsonaro supporter, said he did not understand how people voted for Lula, claiming, "The country is collapsing." He pointed to financial markets' positive reaction to the first round, where Bolsonaro had beaten Lula by more than 2.2 million votes.

Lula’s win marks the first time since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985 that the second-highest vote-getter in the first round won the presidency. The new term begins on January 5, 2027. Lula joins U.S. President Donald Trump and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega as the oldest presidents in the Americas, all aged 80. A video from Lula’s campaign showed him celebrating with his wife, Rosângela Lula da Silva, wearing star-shaped red glasses. Hundreds of supporters gathered on São Paulo’s main artery, while in Rio de Janeiro, a woman in red shouted at Bolsonaro supporters in yellow and green as a roar echoed through the street.