Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was elected to a fourth term on Sunday, an unprecedented achievement in the country's history, after defeating Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, in the second round of the election.
Lula won 51.8% of the vote to Flavio's 48.2%, a margin of more than 4 million votes, according to the country's election authority. Flavio refused to recognize the results and announced that he would ask to annul the election over the decision to extend voting at the last minute.
Flavio said in a speech in Brasilia, "It is inexplicable that what happened could have happened. It is impossible to recognize the election results in the context in which these events took place. We will use our legal team and request the annulment of these elections. I will not accept the rules of the game being changed in the middle of the game." Four years ago, after Jair Bolsonaro lost to Lula, thousands of his supporters stormed Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court in Brasilia.
Lula, in a hoarse voice, thanked the young and elderly voters who turned out in his victory speech. He spared his rival no criticism. "I never thought I would encounter in this country a genuine representative of this country's militia movement," he said, adding, "I never imagined that a person could lie so much."
In the first round, Lula trailed Flavio by 2.2 million votes. This time, turnout rose, and according to pollsters, that is what decided the election. Reportedly, the increase came mainly from groups inclined to support Lula. "People today are choosing between change, with some apprehension, and a known path, which guarantees certain rights," a Brazilian political consultant told Reuters.
The decision to extend voting by two hours now lies at the heart of a dispute. A Supreme Court justice appointed by Lula issued the order minutes before polls closed, at the request of Lula's campaign, which claimed that buses had been pulled from service to keep voters from reaching polling stations. "I have never complained about anything in an election. But this time, something abominable is happening."
When the order arrived, some polling stations had already closed, and their voting machines could not be restarted. Polling station workers reported conflicting instructions. At stations that reopened, it was too late for many voters. Even before the results were announced, four election lawyers described the situation as unprecedented in conversations with The New York Times. One of them even estimated that the election could be annulled if the margin were very narrow.
Flavio's camp has already come out against the decision. According to the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, his campaign chief spoke of a "judicial coup," and his allies hinted at fraud, without evidence. However, Flavio's own campaign also asked during the day to extend voting in 17 cities in the south of the country that were hit by rain and floods. Brazilian media estimate that the election will not be annulled.
The count was also close. Lula led at first, but after about 14% of polling stations were counted, Flavio overtook him. Lula retook the lead only when about half were counted. Reportedly, Flavio's supporters, who gathered in Brasilia, fired off fireworks when he took the lead, but fell silent as the count progressed. In Sao Paulo, by contrast, Lula's supporters celebrated in the streets in a scene more reminiscent of a championship win.
Lula, who will celebrate his 81st birthday on Tuesday, will be the oldest president in Brazil's history. He was born into a poor family in the country's northeast. He worked as a lathe operator in a factory, where he lost his pinky finger in a workplace accident, and became a labor union leader. In 1980, he founded the Workers' Party. He lost three presidential elections and was first elected in 2002. He was later convicted of corruption and spent more than a year and a half in prison, but the conviction was overturned, and in 2022 he defeated Jair Bolsonaro. This is his fourth victory in seven presidential runs, and likely his final term as well.
The fourth term may prove his hardest. In the congressional elections, held alongside the first round, voters chose the most conservative Congress since the return of democracy. Bolsonaro's Liberal Party and its allies could control a comfortable majority in both houses. "He is likely to be a lame duck from the very start," a professor of international relations from Sao Paulo told Reuters. The professor predicts that Lula will struggle to influence Supreme Court appointments and may even face the threat of impeachment.
The markets also reacted with concern. When trading opened in Tokyo, an exchange-traded fund tracking the Brazilian stock exchange plunged more than 12%. Lula will face an economy that his own government projects will grow only 2.3% in 2027, and public debt that has surpassed 82% of GDP, the highest since the coronavirus pandemic.
The shadow of Lula's predecessor loomed over the election. The former president, who lost to Lula in 2022, was convicted in September 2025 of attempting a coup and sentenced to 27 years in prison, which he is serving under house arrest. His son has promised to free him if elected.
Jair Bolsonaro's trial became a flashpoint between Brazil and the US. US President Donald Trump, an ally of Jair Bolsonaro, called the proceedings a "witch hunt." He imposed sanctions on Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over the case, and a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods. The tariff rate was later softened and the sanctions were lifted, but this year Trump imposed new tariffs on Brazil, claiming unfair trade.
Lula warned during the campaign that Flavio would hand Brazil's sovereignty over to Trump, while Flavio promised to fight the high cost of living and improve personal safety.
Lula's victory halts the right's "blue wave" in Latin America. Right-wing candidates identified with Washington won the last seven elections on the continent, and Brazil, the region's largest country, was considered Trump's biggest test. Brazil will now remain a red stronghold that will continue to rankle the White House, together with Mexico, led by President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Jerusalem had hoped Brazil would be next in line, after the right rose to power in place of anti-Israel leaders such as Gabriel Boric in Chile, Gustavo Petro in Colombia, Luis Arce in Bolivia and Xiomara Castro in Honduras, and after Nicolas Maduro was ousted in Venezuela. Lula, who compared the war in Gaza to Hitler's murder of the Jews, was declared persona non grata in Israel. His government joined South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
In his speech at the UN General Assembly in September, Lula again accused the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "genocide of women and children in Gaza."
Flavio, by contrast, is a staunchly pro-Israel figure like his father. He visited Israel early this year, and in an interview with Israel Hayom called Lula "unmistakably antisemitic." He pledged to move Brazil's embassy to Jerusalem, saying, "This will be one of the first steps I take." Netanyahu even sent a video to the launch event of Flavio's campaign.
Support for Israel has become a central part of the identity of Bolsonaro's camp, which relies in part on the powerful evangelical community. Israeli flags are a common sight at its rallies. Brazilians living in Israel also leaned overwhelmingly in his favor. According to the Brazilian newspaper Estadao, Flavio received more than 80% of their votes.
