Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won a historic fourth term in power after a dramatic election comeback. In Sunday's runoff vote, the leftist leader defeated conservative Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in a close race, winning about 51.75% of the vote against Bolsonaro's 48.25%.
The victory marks a rare political turnaround. Lula had lost the first round of voting in early October to Bolsonaro by more than two million votes. Since Brazil returned to democracy in the 1980s, no presidential candidate who lost the first round had ever come back to win the runoff. Lula's campaign worked hard to increase voter turnout in the second round, helping him overcome the deficit and finish ahead by more than four million votes.
The election drew international attention because it pitted two very different political camps against each other. Senator Bolsonaro, aged 45, is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election. During the campaign, the younger Bolsonaro had promised to pardon his father and build closer relations with US President Donald Trump.
Lula, who turns 81 this week, now faces the challenge of leading a sharply divided nation. Brazilian political scientist Jairo Nicolau noted that voters' political loyalties have become unusually rigid, with group identity mattering more than specific policies. While supporters celebrated in the streets of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the narrow result highlights the deep political divide that Lula must manage in his fourth term.