Sao Paulo, Brazil(National Times)- Brazil\u2019s leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pulled off a dramatic comeback on Sunday as he clinched a re-election victory, but his rival Flavio Bolsonaro refused to accept the loss and said he would seek to annul the vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Lula\u2019s victory, Brazil staved off a conservative wave that has seen numerous countries \u2014 such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru \u2014 all shift right, backed by US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The leftist icon, who turns 81 on Tuesday, defied projections to win an unprecedented fourth term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to official results, he won 51.8 per cent of the votes to 48.2pc for Flavio Bolsonaro, with Lula pulling around 4.4 million more votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The senator is the son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year jail term for attempting a coup after his loss to Lula in the country\u2019s last election in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sunday\u2019s vote was marked by confusion after a Supreme Court ruling extended voting by two hours as some polling stations had already closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move came at the request of Lula who complained that buses had been pulled from circulation in various cities, barring citizens from voting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flavio Bolsonaro also requested an extension in some regions due to heavy rains, but he described the decision as \u201cunacceptable\u201d and a \u201cdirty trick\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt is impossible to recognise the results. I am going to request the annulment of these elections,\u201d he said, stone-faced, in a brief speech in Brasilia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No candidate who lost the first round has gone on to win the second in Brazil since 1989, the first direct election after the end of the country\u2019s military dictatorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople went to vote because we managed to convince them that voting was very important for ensuring democracy in the country,\u201d Lula said in his first comments after the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fireworks and vuvuzelas rang out in Rio de Janeiro, while thousands of people dressed in red, the color of Lula\u2019s Workers\u2019 Party, streamed into the streets of Sao Paulo to celebrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lula\u2019s fight back
After the first-round defeat, the left swung into action with massive rallies, declaring \u201cNever Again Bolsonaro\u201d and revamped their social media strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The abstention rate decreased from the first round, falling from 21pc to 19pc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Julio Canelo, 42, a lawyer celebrating in Rio de Janeiro hailed a victory for \u201cthe entire democratic spectrum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was the result of the people mobilising, in the streets and online,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fierce social media battle drew in Meta, parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, which Lula\u2019s campaign accused of favouring his opponent with \u201calgorithmic manipulation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meta denied this but acknowledged that some of Lula\u2019s campaign ads had been mistakenly deactivated due to technical errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are going to have to regulate them,\u201d Lula said of social media companies after his win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A bitter campaign marred by scandals and mudslinging laid bare the deep divisions that have plagued Brazil over the past decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A country split in two
Lula heads into a fourth term with almost half of the nation having rejected him, desperate for change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He rose from poverty to become president in 2003 and was re-elected in 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lula made a dramatic return to office in 2022 elections after a corruption scandal saw him jailed for over 18 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The charges were annulled on procedural grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his third term, Lula oversaw a drop in inflation and unemployment, and lifted millions out of hunger, but many voters felt gloomy about the high cost of living and crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, pitched himself as more moderate and jovial than his father and managed to galvanise conservatives as well as less ideological voters wanting something new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a deep hole, things are dire. People can barely afford to eat \u2014 buying meat is out of the question,\u201d said Tereza Cristina Ramos, a 68-year-old retiree, who voted in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Already one of the world\u2019s oldest leaders, Lula will be 85 by the end of his new term in 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He is also facing a hostile Congress dominated by the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lula\u2019s campaign leaned heavily on the theme of sovereignty in the face of commercial and diplomatic pressure from Trump\u2019s United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis country will not accept being anyone\u2019s backyard,\u201d he said on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lula received congratulations from Chile\u2019s far-right president, Jose Antonio Kast, and Ecuador\u2019s right-wing Daniel Noboa \u2014 both close Trump allies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sao Paulo, Brazil(National Times)- Brazil\u2019s leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pulled off a dramatic comeback on Sunday as he clinched a re-election victory, but his rival Flavio Bolsonaro refused to accept the loss and said he would seek to annul the vote. With Lula\u2019s victory, Brazil staved off a conservative wave that has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n