Lula wins Brazil runoff with 51.7%, securing a fourth term
Why it matters: The result keeps Latin America’s biggest economy on a more independent foreign-policy path and sets up legal fights over voting delays.
Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won Sunday’s presidential runoff with 51.7% of the vote, defeating Senator Flavio Bolsonaro’s 48.2% and securing a fourth, non-consecutive term. The next term begins Jan. 5, 2027. The result made Lula, 80, the first Brazilian president elected four times and the first candidate since the end of military rule in 1985 to lose the first round and then win the presidency. Voting was extended by two hours after disruptions at polling places, a move that ABC News reported could trigger legal action by Bolsonaro. Lula’s victory also keeps Latin America’s largest economy on a course more distant from Washington and closer to Brazil’s long-standing emphasis on sovereignty and ties with the Global South and China.