Leftist Lula Da Silva Defeats Far-Right Bolsonaro In Brazilian Presidential Election

SAO PAULO ― Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s presidential election on Sunday, defeating far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in a heated contest during which the incumbent repeatedly threatened to dismantle the world’s fourth-largest democracy.

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal called the race for da Silva just before 7 p.m. Eastern time, with the leftist holding a narrow 50.83% to 48.17% lead with more than 98% of votes counted.

The victory will complete a triumphant return to the top of Brazilian politics for da Silva, the leader of the leftist Workers’ Party who previously served as the country’s president from 2003 to 2010, then spent nearly two years in prison on a corruption conviction that was ultimately annulled.

Four years after Brazilian discontent with a political establishment that da Silva had long represented helped propel Bolsonaro to victory, Brazilians turned back to the man they refer to simply as “Lula” in historic fashion: Bolsonaro is now the first president since Brazil’s return to democracy in the late 1980s to fail to win a second term.

The election did not provide a resounding defeat of Bolsonaro, one of a cadre of right-wing leaders putting democracies at risk worldwide, which da Silva and many of his supporters had once hoped for. But it was still a rejection of a leader who had spent his four years targeting Brazil’s democratic institutions and who seemed likely to use a second term in office to further erode the country’s democracy.

“The majority of the Brazilian people made it clear that they want more, not less, democracy,” da Silva said in his first speech as president-elect. “They want more social inclusion, not less. They want more, not less, equality and fraternity in our country.”

Da Silva and Bolsonaro advanced to Sunday’s runoff round after finishing as the top two candidates in a first round of voting on Oct. 2. In the closing stages of the race, the leftist who helped topple Brazil’s erstwhile military dictatorship a generation ago harked back to that fight for democracy in an effort to inspire Brazilians to reject a more modern threat.

He also pledged to renew Brazil’s fight against deforestation in the Amazon rainforest and reclaim its role as an important player on the world stage, where Bolsonaro has been increasingly isolated because of his anti-climate and anti-democracy actions.

Now attention will turn to how Bolsonaro will greet the news of his defeat.

For the last two…