President Lula, USA News: Brazil has re-elected left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for a historic fourth term over Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Sunday night’s shock result defied polling and a wave of anti-incumbent sentiment.
Mr da Silva, commonly known as Lula, secured 51.67 per cent of the vote. He squeaked past Mr Bolsonaro, who received 48.24 per cent. The tight result was not unexpected – the candidates were not separated enough in the first round of voting on October 4 to deliver a decisive result.
However, Mr Bolsonaro secured more votes in the first round, and the 80-year-old Workers’ Party leader faced an uphill battle to secure another term. Mr da Silva initially served as President between 2003 and 2011, but was jailed from 2018 to 2019 on corruption charges that were later overturned.
In 2022, he returned to the presidency by defeating Jair Bolsonaro, becoming, at 77, the oldest leader of Brazil.
