Lula makes a stunning comeback to beat far-right Bolsonaro in Brazil’s election
Tom Phillips
Brazil’s leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has sealed a stunning political comeback, beating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in one of the most important and decisive elections in the country’s history.
With 99% of the votes counted, Silva, a former factory worker who became Brazil’s first working-class president exactly 20 years ago, had won 50.8% of the vote. Bolsonaro, a curtain-raiser who was elected in 2018, received 49.1%.
A few streets away from Paulista Avenue, one of the city’s main arteries, Lula’s supporters gathered to celebrate his victory and the fall of a radical right-wing president whose presidency produced an environmental tragedy and saw nearly 700,000 Brazilians die from Covid.
“Our dream is coming true. We have to be free,” said Joe Kallif, a 62-year-old social activist who was among the cheering crowd. “Brazil was in a very dangerous place and now we are regaining our freedom. The last four years have been horrible.”
Gabrielly Soares, a 19-year-old student, jumped for joy as she commemorated the impending victory of a leader whose social policies helped her get a college education.
“I feel so happy… During four years of Bolsonaro I saw my family slide backwards and under Lula they flourished,” he said, a rainbow banner draped over his shoulders.
Ecstatic and tearful supporters of Lula – who won more than 59 million votes to Bolsonaro’s 57 – hugged and threw beer cans into the air.
“This means that we will have someone in power who cares about those at the bottom. Right now we have a person who does not care about the majority, us LGBT people,” Soares said. “Bolsonaro … is a bad person He doesn’t show an iota of empathy or solidarity with others. There is no way he can continue as president.”
There was also celebration in the region as leftist allies tweeted their congratulations. “Long live Lula,” said Colombia’s leader, Gustavo Petro.
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Environmentalist Marina Silva, a prominent centrist who supported Lula’s campaign, told the Guardian’s Tom Phillips this evening: “It’s so sad that so many people who dreamed of this moment are no longer here.”
It paid tribute to murdered Guardian journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, who were killed in the Brazilian Amazon in June 2022 while researching a book Phillips was writing called How to Save the Amazon.
More from Lula’s speech, via longtime Brazil correspondent Andrew Downie.
“We have a duty to ensure that all Brazilians can have breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and this will once again be the priority of my government.”
In his first two terms, Lula built an extensive social welfare program, the “Bolsa Família,” which helped lift tens of millions of Brazilians into the middle class. Bolsonaro ended Bolsa Família in 2021, after introducing a new system, called Auxílio Brasil.
Back to the future for Lula in a speech similar to the one he won in 2002. “We have a duty to ensure that all Brazilians can have breakfast, lunch and dinner every day and this will again be the priority of my government.” https://t.co/JILfzuHd1k
— Andrew Downie (@adowniebrazil) October 31, 2022
Updated at 00.41 GMT
Front page of tomorrow’s Guardian:
Lula: “We are a country, a people, a great nation”
Tom Phillips
Addressing reporters at a Sao Paulo hotel, Lula vowed to reunify his country after a toxic race for power that has deeply divided one of the world’s largest democracies.
“We will live new times of peace, love and hope,” said the 77-year-old, who was sidelined from the 2018 election that saw Bolsonaro reclaim power after being jailed on corruption charges that were later dropped sides
“I will govern for 215 million Brazilians… and not only for those who voted for me. There are no two Brazils. We are one country, one people, one great nation,” he said to applause.
“It is not in anyone’s interest to live in a country divided and in a constant state of war.”
Workers’ Party candidate Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva speaks after being elected president of Brazil on October 30, 2022. Photo: Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images
Updated at 00.29 GMT
Uruguayan political scientist Andrés Malamud has run some numbers and suggests that the recent wave of leftist victories in South America is due more to voter dissatisfaction with their current leaders than to ideology.
He points out that “the left won 6 of the 11 presidential elections in South America. The opposition, 10 of 11”.
“More than ideology, it’s because voters are fed up,” he writes:
The left won 6 of the last 11 presidential elections in South America. The opposition, 10 of 11. More than ideology, fatigue rules. pic.twitter.com/ES8o5AUAn1
— Andrés Malamud (@andresmalamud) October 30, 2022
Updated at 00.30 GMT
Are you in Brazil? Are you a Brazilian celebrating results away from home? Submit a photo on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
Lula: Brazil is back
Speaking in São Paulo, Brazil’s president-elect has a message for the world: “Brazil is back!”.
My colleague Tom Phillips, The Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, is in the room:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has congratulated Brazil’s new president, saying, “The people of Brazil have spoken” and that he looks forward to working with Lula “to strengthen the partnership between our countries, to get results for Canadians and Brazilians. and advance shared priorities, such as environmental protection.”
The people of Brazil have spoken. I look forward to working with @LulaOficial to strengthen the partnership between our countries, to get results for Canadians and Brazilians, and to advance shared priorities like protecting the environment. Congratulations, Lula!
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 30, 2022
Lula promises a “relentless fight against racism, prejudice and discrimination”
In his victory speech in São Paulo, Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised “a relentless fight against racism, prejudice and discrimination so that whites, blacks and indigenous people have equal rights and the same opportunities.”
This was the closest election in the country in more than three decades. Just over 2 million votes separated the two candidates with 99.5% of the votes counted. The previous closest race, in 2014, was decided by a margin of 3.46 million votes.
Lula: This is a victory for a democratic movement
“This is a victory for a democratic movement, above the interests of parties and ideologies,” Lula says in his speech after making a stunning comeback to win Brazil’s presidential election in a second round:
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks to his supporters after his victory in the second round Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. Photo: André Penner/AP
Lula: “They tried to bury me alive but I’m here”
Lula has opened on a somewhat dark note, saying: “They tried to bury me alive but I’m here”:
Lula has arrived at the podium to deliver his victory speech, but he stopped to take a phone call:
Updated at 23.53 GMT
In case you’re with us, Brazil’s former leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has sealed a stunning political comeback, beating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in one of the country’s most important and decisive elections. history of the country
With 99% of the votes counted, Silva, a former factory worker who became Brazil’s first working-class president exactly 20 years ago, had won 50.8% of the vote. Bolsonaro, a curtain-raiser who was elected in 2018, received 49.1%.
We hope to hear from Lula soon: The Guardian’s Latin America correspondent Tom Phillips is in the room and will be bringing it live.
Congratulations from world leaders are coming in fast.
The Argentine president, Alberto Fernández, has celebrated “a new era in the history of Latin America”. “An era of hope and a future that begins right now.”
The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, described Lula’s victory as “progress and hope”.
The speed of the international reaction reflects widespread fears that Bolsonaro, a former army captain who has spent years attacking Brazil’s democratic institutions, may refuse to accept defeat. In the run-up to the election, he indicated he would contest a result he considered “abnormal”.
Updated at 23.54 GMT