Lula holds off far right with victory in Brazil presidential election

Leftist president mounts stunning comeback after unexpected first round loss galvanised supporters of Flavio Bolsonaro.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva greets supporters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 25 [Tuane Fernandes/Reuters]

Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has defeated right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in Brazil’s contentious presidential race, pulling off a remarkable comeback after a first-round loss that galvanised the country’s political right.

Around 9:13pm Brasilia time (00:13 GMT), Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court called the race for Lula, who had earned 51 percent of the vote, with more than 96 percent of ballots counted.

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More than 51.49 million ballots were cast for the incumbent. Bolsonaro, meanwhile, netted 48.68 percent of the vote, or 48.8 million ballots.

No other candidate in modern Brazilian history has lost the first round of a presidential election, only to win the second round.

Still, the vote process was marred by allegations of voter suppression, after reports emerged that public transportation in some areas had been suspended.

With heavy rain affecting other parts of the country, the campaigns of both Lula and Bolsonaro petitioned the Supreme Court for a voting extension. Polls across the country were kept open two hours later than expected, until 7pm Brasilia time (22:00 GMT).

Sunday’s victory means that Lula will retain the presidency of the largest country in Latin America, denying a crucial victory to the region’s right wing.

In recent years, right-wing leaders have swept presidential races in nearby countries like Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador. Many have ridden a wave of anti-incumbent energy and have enjoyed support from United States President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January 2025.

A former union leader for metalworkers, Lula — at age 80 — will be sworn in on January 5, 2027, when he will beat his own record as the oldest Brazilian president to take the oath of office since the country’s return to democracy.

His victory has earned him an unprecedented fourth non-consecutive term in office.

Lula came into Sunday’s runoff as an underdog, however. While he narrowly led in pre-election, the first round of voting on October 4 showed him trailing Bolsonaro.

He earned 45 percent of the first round vote, compared to the right-wing senator’s 47 percent — both tallies short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.

But in the weeks since, Lula has rallied supporters around cost-of-living issues. He championed a constitutional amendment passed this month that shortened the Brazilian workweek, and he floated the possibility of providing free public transportation on weekends.

Having entered politics in the 1980s, during the twilight of the country’s military dictatorship, Lula has run for president seven times.

He won two consecutive terms from 2002 through 2010, as well as a third term in 2022, in what was the tightest race in modern Brazilian history up to that point.

His rival in that election, former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, is father to Senator Bolsonaro, his adversary in this race.

Jair Bolsonaro has since been sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in plotting a coup plot following his loss to Lula.

Despite overseeing a decline in poverty and low unemployment during his third term in office, Lula has faced questions about his age, his ability to combat crime, and the country’s polarised political landscape.

An explosion of household indebtedness has also left many Brazilians feeling that their economic circumstances had worsened.

In September, Lula banned online gambling and sports betting apps, in a bid to address the issue.

While the victory over Bolsonaro cements Lula’s status as one of the most significant and influential figures in Brazil’s modern history, efforts to advance legislative priorities during his fourth term could be stymied by the most right-wing Congress in recent memory.

左翼总统在首轮意外失利后上演惊人逆转，这反而激发了弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗的支持者。

10月25日，巴西总统路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦在巴西圣保罗向支持者致意。[图安·费尔南德斯/路透社]

左翼总统路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦在巴西充满争议的总统选举中击败了右翼参议员弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗，在第一轮失利后实现了惊人的逆转，这激发了该国右翼政治力量的崛起。

巴西利亚时间晚上 9 点 13 分左右（格林尼治标准时间 00:13），巴西最高选举法院宣布卢拉赢得总统大选，他获得了 51% 的选票，当时已统计了超过 96% 的选票。

列表1/3：巴西总统卢拉和总统博索纳罗的竞选集会吸引数千人参加

民调显示，巴西总统候选人卢拉和博索纳罗在第二轮投票前支持率不相上下（共三人），排名第二。

巴西即将迎来紧张的总统决选，以下是您需要了解的三件事（共三条）：

现任总统获得了超过5149万张选票。与此同时，博索纳罗获得了48.68%的选票，即4880万张选票。

在巴西现代史上，还没有其他候选人在总统选举第一轮投票中落败，却在第二轮投票中获胜。

尽管如此，有报道称一些地区的公共交通暂停运营，投票过程仍受到选民压制指控的干扰。

由于暴雨影响到巴西其他地区，卢拉和博索纳罗的竞选团队都向最高法院申请延长投票时间。全国各地的投票站比预期晚开放了两个小时，直至巴西利亚时间晚上7点（格林尼治标准时间22:00）。

周日的胜利意味着卢拉将继续担任拉丁美洲最大国家的总统，从而阻止了该地区右翼取得关键性胜利。

近年来，右翼领导人在秘鲁、哥伦比亚、阿根廷、玻利维亚和厄瓜多尔等邻国的总统选举中屡屡获胜。许多人借助民众对现任政府的不满情绪，并得到了美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的支持，特朗普于2025年1月再次当选。

卢拉曾是金属工人的工会领袖，现年 80 岁的他将于 2027 年 1 月 5 日宣誓就职，届时他将打破自己保持的纪录，成为巴西恢复民主以来就职年龄最大的总统。

他的胜选使他史无前例地获得了第四个非连续任期。

然而，卢拉在周日的决选中处于劣势。虽然他在选前略微领先，但10月4日的第一轮投票显示他落后于博索纳罗。

他在第一轮投票中获得了 45% 的选票，而右翼参议员获得了 47% 的选票——两人的得票率都未达到避免决选所需的 50%。

但此后几周，卢拉围绕生活成本问题团结了支持者。他力挺本月通过的一项宪法修正案，该修正案缩短了巴西的工作周，他还提出了周末提供免费公共交通的可能性。

卢拉于上世纪 80 年代，也就是该国军事独裁统治末期步入政坛，至今已七次竞选总统。

他在 2002 年至 2010 年连续赢得两届任期，并在 2022 年赢得第三届任期，这是当时巴西现代史上竞争最激烈的一次选举。

他在上次选举中的对手，前极右翼总统雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗，是参议员博尔索纳罗的父亲，而参议员博尔索纳罗正是他在本次竞选中的对手。

雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗因在败给卢拉后参与策划政变而被判处 27 年监禁。

尽管卢拉在其第三个任期内实现了贫困人口减少和失业率降低，但他仍然面临着关于他的年龄、打击犯罪的能力以及该国两极分化的政治格局的质疑。

家庭债务激增也让许多巴西人感到他们的经济状况恶化了。

9 月，卢拉禁止了网络赌博和体育博彩应用程序，以解决这一问题。

虽然战胜博索纳罗巩固了卢拉作为巴西现代史上最重要、最有影响力的人物之一的地位，但近年来最右翼的国会可能会阻碍他第四个任期内推进立法优先事项的努力。