(Reuters)
SAO PAULO, Oct 25 – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a historic fourth term on Sunday, the country’s electoral court said, in a shock result that defied polls, precedent and global anti-incumbent sentiment to put the brakes on a wave of right-wing election victories across Latin America.
Lula, an icon of the global left and the most dominant force in Brazilian politics this century, defeated Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
The senator, who led the election’s first round but lost in the runoff by over 4 million votes, said he would ask for the result to be annulled due to a Sunday Supreme Court ruling that extended voting for two hours.
Bolsonaro’s refusal to concede defeat has echoes of his father’s reaction after losing to Lula in 2022. Former President Jair Bolsonaro never accepted his loss and was later given a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup to remain in power.
The scale of Flavio Bolsonaro’s loss to Lula — by more than twice his father’s losing margin — and the fact his campaign also asked for an extension due to rains in the south, make any annulment unlikely, analysts said.
Mario Braga, a Latin America analyst at the risk consultancy RANE, said there could be right-wing protests in coming days, but “it’s very improbable that it will lead to the reversal of the result.”
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