Brazil election results, live | Hundreds of thousands of people celebrate Lula's victory in São Paulo

Brazil Election Results, Live | Hundreds of Thousands Celebrate Lula's Victory in São Paulo The current leftist president achieves an epic comeback, defeating far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro (48.2%) with 51.7%, with 99.9% of votes counted. His victory provides a lifeline to the global left. Lula will be president of Brazil for a fourth time. The 80-year-old leftist defeated his far-right rival, Flávio Bolsonaro (48.2%), with 51.7% of the vote at 99.9% counted. These were the tightest elections in the country's history, with polls suggesting a tie. Additionally, there was Bolsonaro's unexpected victory in the first round, with 47% of the votes compared to Lula's 45%. Election day saw scenes of chaos due to the two-hour extension of polling station closures. The decision was made by a judge, who granted the request from Lula's campaign to extend the hours after detecting transportation problems in several locations. Since Brazil adopted the runoff system in 1989, no one had won the presidency after coming in second in the first round. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva broke that rule this Sunday: he defeated Flávio Bolsonaro with 51.8% of valid votes to 48.2%. His lead of over four million votes is approximately double that of 2022, when he defeated Jair Bolsonaro by barely 1.8 points. Paradoxically, trailing Flávio on October 4 ended up favoring Lula. His first-round campaign was disorganized. The setback woke up his team and his voters. Both mobilized intensely: between the first and second rounds, Lula gained more than 10 million votes, while Flávio added about 3.7 million. The struggling Latin American left is celebrating the epic comeback of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the “Pelé of progressivism,” who prepares to be president of Brazil for a fourth time. From Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum to Colombia's Gustavo Petro, as well as Argentina's Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Chile's Gabriel Boric, the bloc wasted no time in hailing Lula's triumph as soon as it became irreversible, despite the defeated Flávio Bolsonaro promising to seek the annulment of the election. The right, divided between recognizing the result and remaining silent, has left Bolsonaro alone in his claim. Among the 120 world leaders who spoke at the United Nations headquarters this September, it is difficult to find a life and political trajectory as singular and epic as that of the son of Doña Lindu. The maternal figure occupies a starring role in the narrative that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (80 years old, Garanhuns, Pernambuco) has built about his life. In his tenth speech before the General Assembly, the president of Brazil (2003-2009 and since 2023) spoke of broad concepts such as sovereignty, democracy, and multilateralism, but in rallies, he loves to delve into the intimate. He tells how his mother taught him, through daily example, the lessons that forged his character. “Doña Lindu, illiterate, mother of eight small children, had the courage to leave my father. She lived in a shack, raised eight children, and transformed Lulinha into this beautiful thing speaking to you today,” the veteran politician recalled when starting his seventh presidential campaign in August. The setting was a nostalgic nod to the past, in that stadium that once rallied workers against the dictatorship. This Sunday the 25th, he faced another decisive battle. Yet another one. Doña Lindu also taught him never to give up. A perseverance he has displayed in the three weeks since the shock of the first round. Euphoric and with a raspy voice, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated his unexpected electoral triumph over Flávio Bolsonaro as “a defeat for lies and denialism.” Lula overcame the first-round disadvantage against the far-right and won a fourth term with 52% of the vote. The president spoke at a downtown hotel in São Paulo accompanied by his wife, Janja da Silva, the re-elected vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, and other allies. “I am going to have the best term any president has ever had in this country,” he declared, amidst applause and cheers from the gathered crowd. Lula accused Flávio Bolsonaro of lying “shamelessly” and of not having “a single cell of humanism.” “It all seems fake,” he stated about his opponent, with whom he had two tense televised debates in the final week. The feat of the progressive leader in securing a fourth term at the head of the first Latin American giant at nearly 81 years old, with all odds against him, breathes some life into those still fighting to maintain the international relations system born from World War II. It would be strange if Lula sought a direct clash with Trump. Amidst the tension of recent months, he has always strived to maintain channels of dialogue, even directly with the U.S. president. After all, as an old unionist, he was raised in the culture of negotiation. But there is no doubt that the outcome of the Brazilian elections raises a considerable barrier against Washington's unilateralism. Read the full note here. The crowd continues celebrations for Lula's new triumph. Hundreds of people continue celebrating Lula's victory on Paulista Avenue. Bernardo Arévalo celebrates Lula's “great victory” The president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, has celebrated Lula's “great victory” and “a great election day that consolidates the democratic institutions” of Brazil. “We share the conviction that governing is working for the common good, serving from public authority those who have historically been marginalized, strengthening democracy and building fairer societies. In your new term, Lula, we will continue working to strengthen the bonds between our peoples,” he wrote on X. Arévalo is one of only four leftist rulers in Latin America, where right-wing parties govern 12 countries. Along with him are Lula himself, Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum, and Uruguay's Yamandú Orsi. Kast recognizes Lula's triumph: “Chile and Brazil have much of a common future” The president of Chile, José Antonio Kast, congratulated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by phone on his reelection, before Flávio Bolsonaro announced he would begin a legal battle to annul Sunday's results. “Chile and Brazil have much of a common future and we will continue working on an agenda that enhances the relations between our countries in economic integration and the fight against organized crime,” the Chilean president wrote on X. Additionally, in a statement from the Foreign Ministry, led by Francisco Pérez Mackenna, congratulations were reiterated to Lula for his electoral triumph and to the Brazilian people for “this electoral process where the value of citizen participation was reaffirmed.” In the public statement, Kast's government pointed out that, for Chile, “Brazil constitutes a strategic partner in the region.” Gabriel Boric: “Thank you, dear old man, for never stopping the fight” Euphoric, former Chilean president Gabriel Boric joined the chorus of congratulations to Lula for his victory in the runoff. “Thank you, dear old man, for never stopping the fight, for sustaining the hope of a world,” wrote the Chilean on his social networks, who on the eve had already dedicated extensive praise to Brazil's first working-class president, for whom he has always declared himself an admirer. Fujimori joins congratulations to Lula: “I reaffirm our will to strengthen our strategic alliance” The president of Peru, Keiko Fujimori, joined the congratulations to Lula and greeted the Brazilian people for “this democratic day.” “Approaching the bicentennial of our diplomatic relations, I reaffirm our will to strengthen our strategic alliance, integration, cooperation, and the sustainable development of the Amazon we share, for the benefit of both peoples,” she commented on X. The Peruvian leader thus joins other Latin American leaders who have congratulated Lula. Not only leftist presidents, such as Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico and Yamandú Orsi in Uruguay, but also right-wingers Rodrigo Paz (Bolivia) and Santiago Peña (Paraguay). Rodrigo Paz: “We will continue working together to strengthen our relationship” The president of Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz, congratulated his Brazilian counterpart on his victory. “I congratulate President Lula on his victory. Bolivia and Brazil are neighboring and brother countries, united by a common history and challenges. We will continue working together to strengthen our relationship and generate more opportunities for our nations,” he commented. Iván Cepeda: “I celebrate Lula's great victory and the resounding defeat of the continental far-right” Colombian senator Iván Cepeda, who lost the runoff to president Abelardo de la Espriella, also celebrated the “great victory of Lula and the resounding defeat of the continental far-right and Bolsonaro,” as had already done former president Gustavo Petro, his party colleague. “The far-right will be defeated globally by the forces of life and transformation,” he predicted. “In Colombia too, of course.” Flávio Bolsonaro asks to annul the elections Flávio Bolsonaro does not recognize the results and has announced that he will begin a battle to annul the election results. In a brief appearance without questions, surrounded by leaders and followers, he called what happened a “shame.” The two-hour extension of the opening of polling stations is something “incredible, which is not normal” and therefore, according to him, this result cannot be recognized. He accused Justice Cristiano Zanin of the Superior Court of ordering the extension without having the authority to do so. He emphasized that Zanin was Lula's lawyer. What he ignored is that his own party also requested the two-hour extension after the PT did. “It is impossible to recognize the result,” he said from Brasilia while President Lula delivered his victory speech in São Paulo. Lula: “This will be my best Government” Lula has promised that his fourth government will be the best. “I am going to have a better term than the one I already had. I will dedicate 24 hours a day to making this country the country that people dream of,” he declared. He focused on security, one of the primary concerns of Brazilians. “We are going to return tranquility to women and men. We are going to give protection to the working people, and we are going to send the bandits to jail,” he asserted. Lula claims “honesty, nationalism, and democracy” “I want to thank God and all of you, the men and women of this country,” Lula said. He added that the population reclaimed “honesty, nationalism, and democracy.” He also highlighted his victory in the runoff, the first time a candidate has overturned a partial defeat in the first round. “I had never been defeated in a runoff,” he said. Lula claims to be elected president for a fourth time “I am the only president of the Republic elected four times,” Lula claimed in his speech. “I never imagined that a politician could receive so much affection, especially from Brazilian women.” “God was very generous to me,” he asserts. Lula thanks the Brazilian youth Lula thanked the Brazilian youth, the elderly who were “carried by their grandchildren” to vote, and people with cancer… because we managed to convince them that voting was very important to ensure the country's democracy. I want to reassure society as a whole. Lula: “The people chose the Congress, and I will govern with it” Lula said he will not speak of “national unity,” a term difficult to apply in Brazil, but that he will do everything possible to reconcile the country. “The president was elected to govern for everyone, based on respect for the Constitution and the relationship with Congress,” he said. He recognized that he will have difficulties in his relations with the Legislature, which is mostly conservative. “I did not choose the Congress; the people did, and it is with them that I will vote and approve laws,” he added. Lula: “We want to be a central country in the world” Lula claimed Brazil as a global reference in issues such as environmental policies. “We want to stop being a peripheral country and be a central country in the world,” he said. Lula: “I have to govern for everyone” The president now speaks to all Brazilians, including the half of the country that did not vote for him. “I have to govern for you, for 215 million; I have to govern for all cities,” he said. Lula: “I do not want to depend on U.S. or Chinese artificial intelligence. I want to create a Brazilian one” Lula promised improvements in education. “I do not want to depend on U.S. or Chinese artificial intelligence. I want to create a Brazilian one,” the president-elect commented. “We have to take advantage of the country's energy potential.” Lula: “Women must be treated with much more respect” Lula dedicated part of his speech to historically discriminated populations. “I want women to be treated with much more respect,” he said. He also noted that he has no preference for any religion. “I have a preference for the faith of the Brazilian people,” he commented, while promising a secular state with full religious freedoms. Lula: “We can change the way this country is governed” Lula pointed out that the people will participate more in his new government. “We can change the way this country is governed,” he said. “One of the things that motivated me most was that Brazilians did not allow these people to win.” Lula: “This country does not accept being anyone's backyard” The president-elect continues his criticism of his rival, Flávio Bolsonaro, and his defense of Brazilian sovereignty. “This country does not accept being anyone's backyard.”