Never before in Brazil's history has there been a comeback like this. Never before in the history of this country, as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva likes to say, has something so beautiful been seen. Not even the movement for redemocratization after 21 years of dictatorship mobilized as many anonymous people as now, to defeat the fascism represented by the Bolsonaro family. It was Maria, it was João, it was Ana, it was José against Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, which even the UN pointed out had reduced the scope of publications in favor of Lula. It was Raimunda, it was Francisco, it was Carolina, it was Paulo who convinced the undecided that Bolsonarism is not right-wing, much less conservative, but fascism. And now Lula, re-elected, owes his mandate to the people, as it should be. Because in the last three weeks what has been seen in Brazil has been democracy exercised in all its fullness to prevent Bolsonarism from returning to power, corrupting the Constitution, taking the Amazon rainforest to the point of no return and kneeling before Donald Trump.
The Brazilian Stock Market points to a collapse at the opening of the session this Monday after Lula's victory in the presidential elections. The futures on the Bovespa index are sinking to the limit of 15% and the market has decided to extend that limit to 20%. For its part, the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) plummets by more than 27%, which gives an idea of the sharp drop that will occur with the opening of the session.
Various world leaders congratulate Lula on his victory. The South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, shared a photo with the Brazilian president, in which both appear smiling and making a heart with their fingers. His message was also warm: “I congratulate my dear brother and friend,” he wrote in
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung also celebrated Lula's victory in close terms. “My dear companion,” he wrote. Lee stated that he cherishes “the conversations and moments of joy” that he shared with the Brazilian president and expressed his hope that Brazil “continues to move forward with determination.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also congratulated Lula and shared a photo of both leaders together. The most unusual image, however, was the one published by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), in which Lula examines him in a dentist's chair. “Brazil and the WHO will continue working for a healthier world for all,” he wrote.
In addition, prominent figures from the international left have spoken out, such as the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, who wrote: "The united people will never be defeated! Congratulations, President Lula." Jeremy Corbyn, British parliamentarian and former leader of the Labor Party, described Lula's re-election as “spectacular and historic.” "A political return that will be remembered for generations. This is a victory for the people, for the planet and for peace," he stated. Corbyn accompanied his message with a photo of the Brazilian president, who appears holding the Brazilian Constitution and the country's flag in the middle of a crowd that accompanies him.
The European Union (EU) has congratulated the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, for his victory in the second round of the elections in the South American country, in which he defeated the far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who had been the winner in the first round and who has already rejected the official results. “Congratulations to my friend Lula on his electoral victory,” said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “Democracy and multilateralism have won in Brazil,” he highlighted in a message on social networks, in which he added that “Europe's association with Brazil is thriving.”
Along the same lines, the president of the European Council, António Costa, has stressed that "the Brazilian people have spoken", while revealing that he has already had a telephone conversation with Lula to convey his congratulations on his re-election at the polls. “The European Union and Brazil are solid partners,” Costa said on social media, where he emphasized that the bloc and Brazil “will continue to work together” to “deepen” ties, “face global challenges” and “build a more peaceful and prosperous world.”
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has congratulated the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, for winning the elections again after a comeback in the last days of the campaign. The head of the Spanish Executive has added that progressivism will also rise on November 29 in the general elections in Spain. The minister spokesperson also welcomed the news. In an interview on Cadena SER, Elma Sáiz assured that it is “magnificent news.”
The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has also congratulated Lula for his “brilliant diplomatic victory.” “We are going to continue working with that important strategic partner for Spain with whom we share that agenda of democracy, foreign policy, defense of multilateralism and, above all, the desire for progress and social justice for our people,” he said in an interview on RNE. "What this election shows is that the only survey that is valid is the one on election day and the one expressed by citizens at the polls. That is true for Brazil, that is true for Spain."
Brazil held the second presidential round this Sunday. Lula's comeback: The Workers' Party candidate was the first in Brazilian history to win the presidency in the second round after having lost in the first. He has won with 51.79% of the votes, compared to Flávio Bolsonaro's 48.21%, an advantage of more than four million supports. Between one round and another, Lula added more than 10 million votes, while Flávio only about 3.7 million.
The extension of the day: The election was marked by the extension of voting hours by two hours, something unprecedented in the history of the country. The polls were supposed to close at five in the afternoon, but a magistrate ordered them to do so two hours later. He did so in response to a petition from President Lula's campaign, which alleged problems with public transportation in many cities. Bolsonaro's campaign, however, also called for extending hours in several states.
The increase in participation: The president was successful in mobilizing voters who had not voted in the first round: abstentionists went from 33 million on October 4 (21.1%) to 30.5 million this Sunday (19.2%). In his victory speeches, he has emphasized that he was moved to see how older people or those with health problems approached the polls. “Many grandchildren took their grandparents to vote, in wheelchairs,” he exclaimed to a crowd on Paulista Avenue, the epicenter of the celebrations. The blank vote went from 1.8% to 1.1%, while the null vote fell from 2.9% to 2.1%.
Bolsonaro's bid to annul the election: The far-right candidate has clung to the extension of voting hours to ignore the result. “What has happened is incredible, it is not normal, nothing like this has ever happened in the history of Brazil,” he declared in Brasilia, while referring to the magistrate who issued the measure as “Lula's lawyer.” However, his political allies in the region have left him alone. Most right-wing presidents have joined in congratulating Lula: Santiago Peña (Paraguay), Rodrigo Paz (Bolivia), Keiko Fujimori (Peru), José Antonio Kast (Chile) and Daniel Noboa (Ecuador). The Argentine Javier Milei and the Colombian Abelardo de la Espriella have not commented.
Lula has joined the celebrations in full force on the iconic Avenida Paulista in São Paulo. "Everything I do, I do it thinking about you. I do all public policies thinking about you," he exclaimed to a crowd, from a platform. He has also indicated that he is very grateful to God for helping Brazilians elect him president for the first time a quarter of a century ago. “He made you trust that a worker could do more for you than what the Brazilian elite did before,” he emphasized, flanked by his vice president, the center-right Geraldo Alckmin.
The leftist leader has claimed that he is the first Brazilian to be elected four times at the polls. “It is a historical fact that I owe to the Brazilian people, to you,” he stressed. He recalled, as in his first speech, that he was moved that so many people of legal age or with health problems voted. “Many grandchildren took their grandparents to vote, in wheelchairs,” he said. "I owe this victory to a rebellious youth, who rose up in defense of democracy. I owe this victory to the women who rebelled against feminicide," he added.
Hundreds of protesters have dyed Avenida Paulista red, the color of the Workers' Party. “It's thirteen, it's thirteen, it's thirteen!” the young people sang in songs, in reference to the president's number on the card. “It's Lula, it's Lula, it's Lula!” they continued.
The president of Chile, José Antonio Kast, congratulated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by phone on his re-election, before Flávio Bolsonaro announced that he will start a court battle to annul this Sunday's results. “Chile and Brazil have a lot of future in common and we will continue working for an agenda that strengthens relations between our countries in economic integration and combating organized crime,” the Chilean president wrote in In the public statement, the Kast Government pointed out that, for Chile, "Brazil constitutes a strategic partner in the region."
Flávio Bolsonaro does not recognize the results and has announced that he will start a battle to annul the election results. In a brief appearance without questions, surrounded by leaders and followers, he described what happened as “disgraceful.” The extension of two hours plus the opening of schools is something “incredible, which is not normal” and therefore, according to him, this result cannot be recognized. He has accused Superior Court Judge Cristiano Zanin of ordering the extension without having the authority to do so. And he has stressed that Zanin was Lula's lawyer. What he has ignored is that his own party also asked for the two-hour extension after the PT did. “It is impossible to recognize the result,” he said from Brasilia while President Lula gave his victory speech in São Paulo.
