Politics
Lula secures another term in Brazil after runoff marked by voting disruptions
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won more than 51% of the vote in Sunday’s runoff, defeating Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro. The close contest unfolded amid voting-access problems and sharp divisions over Brazil’s political direction.
BRASÍLIA, Brazil — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won re-election Sunday, defeating Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro in a closely contested runoff that will extend Lula’s presidency and keep Brazil’s political future in the hands of a sharply divided electorate.
With more than 96% of votes counted, official results showed Lula winning more than 51% of the vote to Bolsonaro’s more than 48%. The victory gives Lula, 80, a fourth presidential term across his political career, following three earlier nonconsecutive terms.
Voting was disrupted in some areas after local governments reduced bus service, according to Lula’s campaign, which sought more time for voters to reach polling places. Bolsonaro’s campaign also called for an extension, citing heavy rain in some states. Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin ordered polling to stay open two hours past the usual 5 p.m. closing time, but some stations had already deactivated their electronic voting machines before the order arrived.
In Rio de Janeiro, accountant Manuela Tunas, 36, said she missed her chance to vote after a delayed flight brought her to a polling station shortly after 6 p.m. “If some people can vote, and others can’t, it’s unfair,” she said.
The race pitted Lula’s appeal to continuity and social spending against Bolsonaro’s campaign to succeed his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Flávio Bolsonaro had promised closer ties with President Trump and pledged to pardon his father, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting to overturn his 2022 election loss to Lula.
The result carries implications beyond Brazil’s borders, including for the strength of the right-wing movement in Latin America and the future of the Amazon rainforest. It also comes as Brazil marks roughly four decades of democracy, with voters split between deeply entrenched political camps.
The contest gained momentum after Flávio Bolsonaro finished first in the Oct. 4 initial round. Rallies and social media activity intensified in the final days, and Lula supporters said mobilization helped blunt the Bolsonaro family’s momentum.
“I think people woke up about the risk of a Bolsonaro government after the first round, and the mobilization made a difference,” said Alessandra Miguel, 35, a spa worker who voted for Lula in Rio de Janeiro’s Rocinha neighborhood.
Political scientist Jairo Nicolau said voters’ political identities appeared to weigh more heavily than their views on specific policy choices. “People’s identity of belonging to a tribe became more important than how they view different policy options,” he said.