Lula wins fourth term with 64.2 million votes in Brazil

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won 64.2 million votes on Sunday to secure a fourth term as president of Brazil. He received 51.79% of the total, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro, who garnered 59.8 million votes, or 48.21%. The margin of victory exceeded four million votes.

The result reversed the trend from the first round held on October 4, when Flávio Bolsonaro led by two percentage points. Polls during the final weeks of the campaign indicated a technical tie and never projected Lula ahead. The final gap was wider than the margin Lula achieved against his father, Jair Bolsonaro, in the 2022 election.

Lula framed the contest as a choice between democracy and the authoritarianism represented by the Bolsonaro family. Jair Bolsonaro, the family patriarch, is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after his 2022 defeat. In his victory speech, Lula thanked young voters for defending democracy and older citizens for turning out to lower the high abstention rates seen in the first round. He also stated that Brazil refused to be a backyard of the United States under President Donald Trump, asserting the country's central role in global discussions.

Flávio Bolsonaro refused to acknowledge the loss and announced he will request the annulment of the election in court. His campaign cited a judicial decision that extended voting hours by two nationwide. The order came from Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin, Lula's former lawyer, one minute after the standard closing time. This late notice caused confusion, as many polling stations closed at the usual hour without receiving the update. Kassio Nunes Marques, president of the Superior Electoral Court, said the delay created technical, operational, and security difficulties. Bolsonaro called the move unacceptable and a violation of equality, while Flávio claimed the rules were changed by Lula's allies on the Supreme Court.

Despite the challenge, Hugo Motta and Davi Alcolumbre, the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate respectively, recognized Lula's victory. In São Paulo, tens of thousands gathered on Avenida Paulista to celebrate the result. The crowd chanted that dictatorship would never return. The reelected president, who is about to turn 81, spent the campaign learning to use a mobile phone and engaging on social media. He must now negotiate with the right-leaning Congress to maintain governability.

Lula takes office for his new term on Monday. Flávio Bolsonaro will file his legal challenge in the coming days.