São Paulo (EFE).- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the second round of the election on Sunday with 51.76% of the vote, compared to 48.24% for far-right Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, according to official results with 99.81% of the ballots counted.
It is the first time since the end of the military dictatorship (1964–1985) that a candidate who finished second in the first round of voting has defeated his opponent in the runoff.
In the first round, Flávio received the most votes, 47%, two percentage points more than Lula, equivalent to a difference of 2.2 million votes.
On Sunday, in the second round, Lula reversed that result, outpacing his opponent by over four million votes.
Lula will begin his fourth term, his second consecutive one, on Jan. 5 in Brasília at the age of 81.
Lula’s victory also halts the shift to the right that Latin America has experienced in recent years, encouraged by United States President Donald Trump.
The leader of the Workers’ Party (PT) was at a disadvantage after the first round.
Since then, all polls have shown a very close race, with both candidates virtually tied, though Flávio held a slight lead. In fact, the last two polls, released the day before, showed the senator with 51% of the vote and Lula with 49%.
The streets and social media are carrying Lula forward. After a disorganized first part of the campaign, as Lula himself put it, the incumbent made a radical shift in his strategy, calling on supporters to take to the streets and social media.
His supporters responded with massive marches in several major cities, displaying a surge of progressive enthusiasm unseen in decades.
The PT candidate also took action as president: he secured congressional approval for workweek reform, forgave the debts of millions of self-employed workers, and launched incentive measures for the video game industry, among other actions.
He also waged a fierce campaign of attrition against his opponent, employing a strategy based on fear and memories of budget cuts during Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019–2022).
Harsh attacks on Flávio
Lula linked Flávio to Argentine President Javier Milei’s “chainsaw” and warned that Flávio’s victory posed a threat to democracy, regarding the coup attempt led by Flávio’s father after he lost the 2022 election.
He also recalled the corruption allegations against Flávio and his ties to relatives in paramilitary groups in Rio de Janeiro.
Lula warned that Flávio would be subservient to Trump on issues such as security and mining amid White House attempts to interfere, allegedly to favor Bolsonaro’s son, who is an ally of the Republicans.
«We will not allow Brazil to be anyone’s backyard,» Lula claimed at his rallies.
In contrast, Flávio lost his ability to shape the public debate and trailed behind in the final three weeks of the campaign.
Starting in February, Flávio will lose his parliamentary immunity and will have to face at least two investigations related to alleged money laundering offenses.
Meanwhile, Lula will serve his final term with a Congress that leans further to the right than it did four years ago.EFE
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