Bolsonaro says it is ‘impossible to concede’ poll result
Tiago Rogero
Far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro said it was “impossible to concede the election result” and that his legal team would seek to have the election annulled.
Following in the footsteps of his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who four years ago also refused to acknowledge his defeat by Lula – before attempting a coup and being convicted for it – the senator cited a supreme court justice’s decision to extend voting hours as the alleged reason.
Although Bolsonaro had also requested an extension of voting hours, the senator said Justice Cristiano Zanin’s decision to extend it from 5pm to 7pm “was not normal, it was unacceptable” and amounted to “changing the rules of the game while the game was being played”.
Bolsonaro said the decision had come from “Lula’s friends on the supreme court”, pointing out that Zanin had previously represented the leftwing president as his lawyer and had been appointed to the court by him.
The justice ordered the extension minutes after 5pm, the scheduled closing time for polling stations, after fellow justice Kassio Nunes Marques spent hours without ruling on Lula’s campaign request. During the campaign, Marques, appointed by Jair Bolsonaro and current head of the electoral court, had been criticised for bias in rulings favouring the far-right senator.
Continued next post
Key events
As we have been reporting, Flávio Bolsonaro defied opinion polls by securing a narrow lead over the leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first round of voting held on 4 October. But Lula, who will be 85 by the end of his fourth term, made a dramatic comeback after reigniting his campaign between the first and second rounds.
The Guardian’s South America correspondent, Tiago Rogero, has looked at how Lula’s campaign gained ground after a massive social media push and enthusiastic street protests rallied support around the incumbent. Here is an extract from the report:
Bolsonaro began the runoff campaign with a lead and the support of most other defeated candidates, but instead of growing, he stagnated in the polls while Lula gained support.
Many analysts saw this as the result of part of the population suddenly waking up to the “fear” of a Bolsonaro returning to power, as well as controversies including the fact that the senator is under investigation in two federal police inquiries over alleged corruption and money laundering.
Lula, by contrast, radically changed his digital strategy and benefited from student-led protests across the country, most of which did not even involve the president.
Interim summary
In case you’re just joining us, here’s a rundown on what’s happened in Brazil’s presidential election runoff – it is 4am in São Paulo.
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Leftwing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pulled off a dramatic comeback to defeat far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro in the second round of the election vote.
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Lula won a historic fourth term on Sunday in a victory – declared by the country’s electoral court – that put the brakes on a wave of rightwing election wins across Latin America.
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Lula defeated Bolsonaro, the son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro, by more than 4 million votes after narrowly losing the first round of voting.
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Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, said it was “impossible to concede the election result” and that his legal team would seek to have the election annulled due to a supreme court ruling that extended voting for two hours.
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Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, told supporters in São Paulo after his victory: “We are going to change the way that this country is governed … This election was a defeat for denialism … I want to thank God and to thank you, Brazilian men and women of this country … it was democracy that made this happen.” Vice-president Geraldo Alckmin told the crowd: “You saved Brazilian democracy for the second time.”
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Lula, heading the Workers’ party (PT), received 51.79% of the ballots, or 64,256,232 votes. Bolsonaro, of the Liberal party (PL), had 48.21% or 59,826,041. Pollsters said a better-than-expected turnout helped power Lula’s win.
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The victory marks another of his comebacks. Lula was jailed from 2018 to 2019 on corruption charges that were later overturned, paving the way for him to beat Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 election. Jair Bolsonaro was later given a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup to remain in power. He was hoping to be freed and given a role in government had his son won this election.
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Lula’s win is also a blow for Donald Trump that deprives the US president of a major addition to what has been a growing bloc of pro-Trump leaders to take power in Latin America, including in Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Argentina.
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Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said of Lula’s win: “Long live democracy, the people of Brazil won.” Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel congratulated Lula on “this historic victory that ensures the continuity of the path of peace, sovereignty and social justice embarked upon by the Brazilian people under your leadership”. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said: “Democracy and multilateralism have won in Brazil.” Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said the Canada-Brazil “partnership” had flourished and “let’s seize this opportunity to make it even stronger, together”. Other leaders’ reactions can be seen in posts here and here.
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Lula’s reelection win has set up a test for financial markets, with investors expecting recent bets on a change of government to unwind in a volatile week ahead. November futures for the Brazilian real were down 10% in Asian hours while a Tokyo-listed exchange-traded fund tracking Brazil’s Bovespa index fell nearly 15% in Asia trade.
With staff and agencies
EU chief hails Lula win as victory for ‘democracy’
Ursula von der Leyen has praised Lula for his election win and said Europe will “remain by your side for the years to come”.
The head of the European Union said in a message posted on X:
Congratulations to my friend @LulaOficial on his electoral victory.
Democracy and multilateralism have won in Brazil.
Europe’s partnership with Brazil is thriving.
We will remain by your side for the years to come.
Together we will keep working closely for free and open trade.
A rules-based global order.
And strong ambitions for our climate.
There’s more from the crowds parading down São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue with a mixture of ecstasy and relief in celebration of Lula’s surprise election victory.
Cheers of “Let’s go, Lula!” rose from the crowd again and again. The leftwing president – who turns 81 on Tuesday – joined the parade, leaning out of the sunroof of a car with a megaphone in his hand and saying:
I just had to tell you that I love you. Tomorrow, the fight continues.
“I feel so happy!” 43-year-old Anna Zanatta said before bursting into tears of joy. “Lula’s victory represents many things for us: freedom, our democracy, our history,” she said, waving a flag bearing the message “Antifascist Action”.
Zanatta viewed a hypothetical Bolsonaro victory as a “threat” to Latin America’s largest democracy.
“I was born under a dictatorship, and I promised my granddaughter that we Brazilians would never go through that again,” she said, referring to the military regime that ruled from 1964 to 1985.
Agence France-Presse also quoted doorman Alfonso dos Reis, 64, who carried a sign reading “Lula again with the strength of the people” alongside a photo of the incumbent president.
“We’re going to build a much better country,” he beamed.
Lula supporters have poured into Brazilian streets after his election win and the defeat of rival far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.
In São Paulo, the Guardian’s Tom Phillips reports that crowds are celebrating in a street party that is set to go until dawn to mark Lula’s historic victory.
Outside Bolsonaro’s mansion in Brasília, the Guardian’s Tiago Rogero reports that the senator has declared it “impossible to concede Lula’s victory” and vowed to seek the election’s annulment.
See vision from both cities in our video here.
Lula’s reelection win has set up a test for financial markets, with investors expecting recent bets on a change of government to unwind in a volatile week ahead.
Markets had moved sharply in anticipation of a rightwing shift since Flávio Bolsonaro unexpectedly finished first in the election’s opening round three weeks ago. Stocks closed on Friday almost 7% above their level going into the first round, while the real currency was nearly 5% stronger against the US dollar.
Interest-rate futures had indicated expectations that tighter public finances would allow borrowing costs to decline, Reuters reports.
“We expect a sharp market reaction on Monday, with aggressive repricing, a selloff in assets and interest rate futures likely to hit their upper limit shortly after the open,” said Luis Felipe Vital, head of macro strategy at Warren Investimentos.
Over the next four years, Lula must slow the growth of Brazil’s debt while protecting social programs and investment.
“We expect the rally that followed the first round to be largely priced out, and sentiment to stay weak until a clear fiscal plan emerges,” said Alejo Czerwonko, chief investment officer for emerging markets at UBS Global Wealth Management.
Final results of the election vote
The final tally after all votes in Brazil’s presidential runoff poll were counted is:
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Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – Workers’ party (PT): 51.79%, 64,256,232 votes
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Flávio Bolsonaro – Liberal party (PL): 48.21%, 59,826,041 votes
You can see a state-by-state breakdown here.
Tom Phillips
I’ve just been speaking to Lula’s overjoyed health minister, Alexandre Padilha.
“This is a huge victory for the Brazilian people who in the second round had the chance to think about what President Lula means for the environment, for the defence of our national health service and our education system and for the Brazilian constitution,” he told me, clutching my hand with emotion as he spoke.
And [to think about] the risks that the extreme-right candidate [Bolsonaro] entailed.
It’s a massive victory, not just for Brazil. It’s also an important signal to the rest of Latin America and to the world.
Tom Phillips
Tens of thousands of Lula supporters have poured onto Paulista Avenue at the heart of São Paulo to celebrate his historic election win.
The mood is of absolute ecstasy and relief after Lula managed to stage an unprecedented second-round comeback against his far-right rival Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro.
As fireworks blasted into the night sky, a group of revellers hoisted a sign reading “Dictatorship never again” onto the roof of one of the avenue’s metro stations.
“I feel amazing. Brazil is fucking incredible. Lula is our father,” said Leonardo Machado, a 44-year-old Lula supporter as he hit his city’s most famous street to toast the president’s triumph.
It’s nearly 1am in Brazil now and the party looks likely to go on until sunrise.
Lula’s dramatic win is bad news for former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence and was hoping to be freed and given a role in government had his son Flávio Bolsonaro prevailed in the poll.
Jair Bolsonaro was jailed for plotting a coup against Lula after the leftwinger won the 2022 election against him.
Lula’s win in this runoff election is also a blow for Donald Trump, the Bolsonaro clan’s most important international ally.
The US president had been hoping Bolsonaro would become the latest in a series of pro-Trump leaders to take power in Latin America, including Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia, Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, José Antonio Kast in Chile and Javier Milei in Argentina.
There’s more from Tom Phillips and Tiago Rogero here.
More political leaders react to Lula victory
Reactions from political leaders internationally have continued to come in after the news of Lula’s win against Flávio Bolsonaro.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said:
The relationship between Canada and Brazil has flourished under our partnership.
Let’s seize this opportunity to make it even stronger, together – to create major new trade opportunities, protect the environment and build greater prosperity for both our peoples.
Peruvian president Keiko Fujimori:
I congratulate President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva … and salute the Brazilian people for this democratic day.
Ecuadorean president Daniel Naboa:
Our region has common enemies, shared challenges, and much to gain when we work together.
Chilean president José Antonio Kast:
I just spoke with the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Chile and Brazil have a lot of shared future ahead, and we will continue working on an agenda that strengthens relations between our countries in economic integration and the fight against organised crime in the region.
See here for our earlier post on the reactions of other leaders in the region and beyond – including Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and Cuba’s Miguel Díaz-Canel – also care of Reuters.
There is a mixed mood on the streets of Brazil tonight, a few hours on from Lula’s historic victory was announced. In Rio de Janeiro, cars beeped their horns and a huge roar echoed in the street as the result was confirmed.
But Rodrigo Valentim, a 51-year-old businessman and supporter of Bolsonaro, said that another Lula government would harm the economy. He pointed to financial markets’ positive reaction to the result of the first round, when Bolsonaro bested Lula.
“I don’t understand how people can vote for Lula,” he said. “The country is collapsing.”
Many have focused on the supreme court ruling extending voting by two hours, with Aurelio Junior, 45, a dentist in Brasília, calling it a “disgrace”.
We’ve never had anything like this in Brazil, and now they’ve come up with the idea of extending the election period by two hours.
However, Jacqueline Maria Lima de Franca, 34, a business owner in Rio de Janeiro who backed Lula, said it was “more than fair … everyone should have the right to vote, and that was being neglected”.
The Guardian’s Tom Phillips was in the São Paulo conference hall as Lula addressed a packed crowd of ecstatic supporters.
“I am [nearly] 81 … and I am going to do the best term a president has ever done,” Lula vowed.
We are going to change the way that this country is governed … This election was a defeat for denialism … I want to thank God and to thank you, Brazilian men and women of this country … it was democracy that made this happen.
Lula’s vice-president, Geraldo Alckmin, told the crowd:
You saved Brazilian democracy for the second time. Congratulations president Lula.
The president’s supporters chanted back: “Olé. Olé. Olá! Lula! Lula!”
US senator Bernie Sanders has congratulated Lula, saying he has “stood up for Brazilian workers and democracy”.
“Congratulations to Lula on his extraordinary reelection victory in the Brazilian presidential election,” the senator, who is a key figure on the US left, wrote soon after the results were clear.
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The president of Brazil’s electoral court, Kassio Nunes Marques, has recognised Lula’s victory, saying “with more than 64 million votes, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been re-elected and will be the 40th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, for the term beginning on 5 January 2027”.
Marques added that he had called both candidates.
To President Lula, I express the electoral justice system’s recognition of his participation in yet another democratic process and of his victory at the ballot box. His political career spans different periods of Brazil’s democratic history. He has stood as a candidate in eight elections, winning four of them.
To candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who contested a presidential election for the first time and received a significant number of votes, I offer my congratulations on his campaign.
Tiago Rogero
Continued from last post
In a five-minute speech in which he took no questions, and which appeared to have been deliberately timed to begin only after Lula’s televised victory speech had ended, Flávio Bolsonaro made no mention of the fact that his campaign had also asked the electoral court to extend voting hours.
While Lula’s request concerned cities in at least nine states where voters had not been provided with the free public transport guaranteed by law, Bolsonaro justified his request by citing heavy rain in some states.
As well as refusing to concede, the senator told his supporters:
I will not give up on my Brazil, and I hope you won’t give up either.
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