Since Brazil returned to democracy, no candidate who trailed in the first round of a presidential race had gone on to win the runoff. On Sunday, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva did exactly that, beating Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and securing a fourth term, which no president before him had managed.
Electoral court figures with every ballot box counted put the 80-year-old incumbent on 51.79 percent of valid votes, about 64.3 million, against 48.21 percent for his right-wing rival. Three weeks earlier the order was reversed: Bolsonaro, son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro, had finished ahead with 47.03 percent to Lula’s 45.16.
Turnout explains much of the swing. Abstention fell from around 21 percent in the first round to roughly 19 percent, as Lula’s camp pushed hard to bring out people who had stayed home. A constitutional amendment passed by Congress shortly before the vote, guaranteeing workers two days off a week with no pay cut, also gave the president a popular talking point.
Polling day itself was messy. Lula’s campaign complained that a lack of buses kept voters in several cities from reaching their stations, while the Bolsonaro side pointed to heavy rain in the south. Supreme Court justice Cristiano Zanin ended up extending voting until 7pm. That ruling is now the loser’s main argument: Bolsonaro called the outcome “inexplicable” and said his lawyers would seek an annulment, something that has never happened to a Brazilian presidential election.
Celebrating with flag in hand in São Paulo, Lula promised a term in which he would listen more than ever to ordinary Brazilians. He is due to be sworn in on 5 January 2027.
