By Christina Lu

(Foreign Policy Morning Brief)

Brazil’s leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva—widely known as Lula—triumphed in the country’s election runoff on Sunday, narrowly defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a heated presidential race that polarized the nation and fueled political violence.

Lula ultimately secured 50.9 percent of the vote, while Bolsonaro received 49.1 percent—making it Brazil’s tightest presidential contest since 1985, when the country transitioned from a military dictatorship to democracy.



“I will govern for 215 million Brazilians, and not just for those who voted for me,” Lula declared on Sunday night. “There are not two Brazils. We are one country, one people, one great nation.”



Sunday’s victory is a dramatic political comeback for Lula, who was previously president between 2003 and 2010. He is largely remembered for leading Brazil during a period of economic prosperity and lower poverty—and, more controversially, for his involvement in a sweeping corruption scandal that ultimately landed him in jail. After serving just 580 days of his 22-year sentence, the Supreme Court annulled his conviction for procedural reasons.



That paved the way for his return to power. As Brazilian households confront surging inflation and a worsening economic outlook, Lula ran on a campaign to raise the minimum wage, funnel more spending toward poorer communities, and curb illegal logging, although his proposals have been short on the details.



On election day, there were widespread fears of possible voter suppression efforts as Brazil’s Federal Highway Police—which has been accused of being cozy with Bolsonaro—reportedly established roadblocks in pro-Lula regions, presumably to prevent people from casting votes for him.



In response, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered them to end the roadblocks and later said that they had only delayed voters.




Lula is set to assume the presidency on January 1; the question is now how Bolsonaro will respond after his monthslong campaign to undermine the integrity of Brazil’s voting systems. As of Monday morning, he had still not spoken out on the election results.




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