Brazil election

Far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were very close in Brazil's runoff presidential election with more than 97 percent of the ...

Da Silva has homed in on Bolsonaro’s widely criticized handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and said the president failed to care for society’s neediest members. The president’s tremendous digital mobilization was on display in recent days as his campaign introduced fresh — and unproven — claims of possible electoral manipulation. Livia, 36, said she voted for Bolsonaro because he defends the things she holds dear: “family values, God and freedom of expression.” Da Silva has specifically criticized Bolsonaro for the nation’s fallen stature abroad, highlighting the dearth of state visits and bilateral meetings. That did not stop Bolsonaro from reminding voters of the convictions. “Today we are choosing the kind of Brazil we want, how we want our society to organize. In the first round of voting, on Oct. 2, the first half of votes tallied likewise showed Bolsonaro ahead, with da Silva pulling ahead later after votes from his strongholds were counted. Television network Globo reported more than 500 stops, half of which in the northeast region, a Workers’ Party stronghold. But supporters decked out in the green and yellow of the flag barely responded. SAO PAULO (AP) — Far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were very close in Brazil’s runoff presidential election with more than 97 percent of the votes tallied. People in the streets of Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema neighborhood could be heard shouting, “It turned!”

The results bring to a close the most consequential election in Brazil in decades. Now, president-elect da Silva faces the huge task of reinvigorating ...

"I send my congratulations to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his election to be the next president of Brazil following free, fair, and credible elections," President Biden said in a statement. Lira told reporters that it was time for pro-Bolsonaro forces to reach out to the other side, adding "long live democracy in Brazil." Da Silva and Bolsonaro were the two top finishers in a first round of presidential voting on Oct. But he was released on a technicality in 2019 and launched yet another run for the presidency that quickly garnered enthusiastic support. "I'm really happy," said Victor Costelo, 33, who works in advertising, as he celebrated on the streets of Sao Paulo that were crowded with da Silva supporters, many of them wearing the red colors of his Workers Party. With nearly all the ballots counted, official returns gave da Silva, who is a former two-term president, 50.8% of the vote compared to 49.2% for Bolsonaro.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been elected the next president of Brazil, in a run-off race on Sunday that was tight until the last moments.

“Lula would try to reposition, almost like a rebranding, Brazil in the international arena as a power to be taken into account,” he said. According to the head of Lula da Silva’s government plan, Aloizio Mercadante, another tactic will be to create a group including Brazil, Indonesia and Congo ahead of the UN-led November 2022 Conference of Parties. With destruction of the vast Amazon rainforest reaching record levels under Bolsonaro’s presidency, Lula da Silva has repeatedly said during his campaign that he would seek to curb deforestation. Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party has also increased its number of deputies from 56 to 68 and senators from seven to eight — but overall, conservative-leaning politicians will dominate the next legislature. Lula da Silva will need to pursue dialogue and rebuild relationships, said Carlos Melo, a political scientist at Insper, a university in São Paulo. And his campaign received a boost from centrist former presidential candidate Simone Tebet, who came third in the first round earlier this month and gave Lula da Silva her support in the run-off. Lula da Silva, who is expected to take office on January 1, will take the reins of a country plagued by gross inequality that is still struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Many will be watching for potential change to the 2017 Labor Reform Act, which subjected more workers’ rights and benefits to negotiation with employers, and made union contributions optional. Among these politicians is his vice-president, former São Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin, who has been cited by the Lula camp as a guarantee of moderation in his administration. At the same time, he will have to deliver to match supporters’ expectations, Amparo added. The former leader’s victory on Sunday was the latest in a political wave across Latin America, with wins by left-leaning politicians in Argentina, Colombia and Chile. The sentences were later annulled by the Supreme Court, clearing his path to run for reelection.