NewzBrazil’s leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pulled off a dramatic comeback on Sunday as he clinched election victory against right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who trounced him in the first round. The leftist icon, who turns 81 on Tuesday, defied all projections to win an unprecedented fourth term at the helm of Latin America’s largest country. According to official results, he won 51.75 percentof the votes to 48.25 percent for Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who had entered election day confident with his lead in the polls.
With Lula’s victory, Brazil staved off a conservative wave that has seen numerous countries — such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru — all shift right, backed by US President Donald Trump. After a campaign marred by scandal and mud-slinging, Sunday’s vote plunged into chaos after a last-minute Supreme Court ruling extending voting by two hours, at the request of Lula who said buses had been pulled from circulation in various cities, barring citizens from voting. Supporters of Brazil’s President and Workers’ Party (PT) re-election candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva react to the presidential runoff election results in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 25, 2026.
Lula da Silva pulled off a dramatic comeback on October 25, 2026, as he clinched election victory against right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who trounced him in the first round. (Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP) Flavio Bolsonaro also requested an extension in some parts of the country due to heavy rains, but his camp lashed out at the country-wide extension. Consider yourself warned,” pro-Bolsonaro lawmaker Nikolas Ferreira wrote on X as the votes streamed in.
The bitter campaign laid bare the deep divisions in the country of over 200 million people. 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,” said Aurelio Junior, 45, a dentist in Brasilia. Jacqueline Maria Lima de Franca, 34, a business owner in Rio de Janeiro backing Lula said it was “more than fair…everyone should have the right to vote, and that was being neglected.” – Lula rises from the ashes, again – Lula, a defining figure in Brazilian politics over four decades, was blindsided after his first-round defeat to Bolsonaro.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, nearly 81 years old, clinched a fourth term in a tight runoff against Flavio Bolsonaro on Sunday. The leftist leader won 51.7 percent of the vote, compared to 48.2 percent for the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, official results showed. The candidate's unprecedented election to a fourth term put the brakes on a wave of rightwing election victories across Latin America.
Leftist President Lula has defeated right-wing challenger Flavio Bolsonaro to win another term in office. Bolsonaro has refused to concede and called for the results to be annulled. Leftist incumbent Lula stages unprecedented comeback weeks after narrowly losing first round of election to BolsonaroLula wins election in stunning comeback – live updatesLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, has staged a dramatic election fightback, defeating his far-right opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, to claim a historic fourth term in power.With nearly 99% of votes counted the 80-year-old leftist received 51.75% of the vote to his 45-year-old rival’s 48.25%.
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