Brazil vote: Lula wins election defeating Bolsonaro in close contest
Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva has defeated incumbent far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential election.
Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva has defeated incumbent far-right president Jair Bolsonaro in the country’s presidential election.
Electoral officials declared the election for Lula, who had 51 per cent of the vote to 49 per cent for Bolsonaro with more than 99 per cent of polling stations reporting.
Lula, who has won a third term in office, was neck-and-neck with Bolsonaro throughout the nailbiting count in a deeply divisive, down-to-the-wire run-off election.
All eyes will now be on how Bolsonaro and his supporters react to the official result, after months of alleging — without evidence — that Brazil’s electronic voting system is plagued by fraud and that the courts, media and other institutions have conspired against his far-right movement.
US President Joe Biden on Sunday congratulated Lula.
“I send my congratulations to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his election to be the next president of Brazil following free, fair, and credible elections,” he said in a statement.
“I look forward to working together to continue the cooperation between our two countries in the months and years ahead.”
Supporters of Bolsonaro were confident of victory and the result will come as a shock.
Lula is set to win the bellwether state of Minas Gerais — the electorate is key as whoever wins normally secures the presidency.
Brazilians had been on the edge of their seats awaiting results from an election battle — a bitterly divisive race that was seen as too close to call.
The run-off capped a dirty campaign that has left the South American nation of 215 million people deeply split between supporters of conservative ex-army captain Bolsonaro, those of charismatic ex-metalworker Lula, and many others more or less equally disgusted by both.
The victory marks a stunning turnaround for Lula — he left office in 2010 as the most popular president in Brazilian history, fell into disgrace when he was imprisoned for 18 months on controversial, since-quashed corruption charges, and now returns for an unprecedented third term at age 77.
Bolsonaro, the vitriolic hard line conservative dubbed the “Tropical Trump,” meanwhile becomes the first incumbent president not to win re-election since Brazil returned to democracy at the end of its 1964-1985 military dictatorship.
Decked out in the red of Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT), supporters exploded into celebration in cities across the country, setting off colourful fireworks in Rio de Janeiro and erupting into huge cheers in Sao Paulo.
The outcome of the Brazilian election presents an opportunity to change the course of history, not just for Brazil & the Amazon, but for the world.
— Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) October 30, 2022
 (ð·: João Paulo Krajewski) pic.twitter.com/twRASHWg2G
A grinning Lula greeted euphoric supporters in Sao Paulo, the economic capital, and tweeted a single word: “Democracy,” alongside a picture of the Brazilian flag.
In tears, Bolsonaro supporters in the green and yellow of the flag — which he has adopted as his own — meanwhile fell to their knees to pray for a reversal, gathered outside the seat of government in the capital, Brasilia.
Bolsonaro surged to victory four years ago on a wave of outrage with politics as usual, but came under fire for his disastrous handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, which left more than 680,000 dead in Brazil, as well as a weak economy, polarising style and attacks on democratic institutions.
Allegations of foul play lasted straight to the end, as Lula’s Workers’ Party accused the police of using massive roadblocks to suppress votes in his strongholds, especially the impoverished northeast.
Many fear a Brazilian remake of the Capitol riots that rocked the United States after the 2020 election loss of Bolsonaro’s political role model, Donald Trump.
Regardless of how Bolsonaro reacts, Lula will face huge challenges from the day he is inaugurated on January 1.
Bolsonaro’s far-right allies scored big victories in legislative and governors’ races in the first-round election on October 2, and will be the largest force in Congress.
Lula said after voting in Sao Bernardo do Campo, the southeastern city where he rose to prominence as a union leader, that he would work to heal the wounds left by the polarising campaign.
“One of the dreams that made me become a candidate in this election was to restore peace among Brazilians,” he told journalists, dressed in a white shirt and surrounded by white-clad allies.
The campaign descended into an orgy of mudslinging, attack ads and disinformation, especially on the all-important battleground of social media.
Western celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio had called on Brazilians to vote for Lula.
“The outcome of the Brazilian election presents an opportunity to change the course of history, not just for Brazil & the Amazon, but for the world,” DiCaprio tweeted after the result.
The environmental activist had donated $US5 million to conservation efforts in the Amazon rainforest in 2019, The National reported, and last week posted a tweet encouraging Brazilian youths to register to vote.
“Brazil is home to the Amazon and other ecosystems critical to climate change. What happens there matters to us all and youth voting is key in driving change for a healthy planet,” DiCaprio said.
That sparked a sarcastic response from Bolsonaro on Friday.
“Thanks for your support, Leo! It‘s really important to have every Brazilian voting in the coming elections,” he wrote.
“Our people will decide if they want to keep our sovereignty on the Amazon or to be ruled by crooks who serve foreign special interest. Good job in The Revenant!”
French leader Emmanuel Macron on Sunday congratulated Lula, saying the poll opened “a new page” in the country’s history.
“Together, we will join forces to take up the many common challenges and renew the ties of friendship between our two countries,” the French President said on Twitter, minutes after the announcement of the final election results.
– with AFP