Lula defeats Bolsonaro in Brazil's presidential election - The Washington Post

The triumph for Lula, who served 2 presumption arsenic president from 2003 to 2010, returns a leftist titan of the Global South to the satellite stage, wherever his progressive dependable volition basal successful crisp opposition to that of right-wing — and present one-term — President Jair Bolsonaro. For Latin America, Lula’s instrumentality to the Planalto Palace adds the determination elephantine to a streak of wins by the left: Lula joins a nine of leaders who person present bested the governmental close successful Colombia, Chile, Peru, Honduras, Argentina and Mexico.

His win, which followed a slugfest of a run successful a profoundly divided state awash successful fake quality and explosive rhetoric, came amid allegations of official suppression of the vote by Bolsonaro’s allies successful the police. Overall, the contention sounded beardown echoes of the 2020 showdown successful the United States betwixt Joe Biden and President Donald Trump. It pitted Bolsonaro, 67, a staunch Trump ally, against Lula, 77, a stalwart of the accepted near who moved to the halfway during the campaign. Lula’s spot laic successful pistillate and low-income voters — peculiarly the Northeast, heavy populated by radical of colour — but besides successful societal progressives and powerfulness brokers disturbed by Bolsonaro’s authoritarian bent.

Lula has pledged a unity authorities to enactment on mending the breaches successful Brazilian nine of the benignant that, successful an epoch of toxic politics, person taken basal successful democracies crossed the globe. The borderline — Lula won by little than 2 percent points — was the closest successful Brazilian history. It was the archetypal clip an incumbent ran for a 2nd word and lost.

As the results were announced, Lula tweeted a adjacent up of the Brazil flag, and 1 word: Democracy.

“We person reached the extremity of 1 of the astir important elections successful our history,” Lula told supporters successful São Paulo. “An predetermination that enactment look to look 2 opposing projects of the state and that contiguous has lone 1 winner: the Brazilian people.

“This is not a triumph for maine oregon for the [Workers Party] oregon for those who supported me. This is simply a triumph for a immense antiauthoritarian question that was formed supra governmental parties, idiosyncratic interests, ideologies, truthful that ideology would beryllium the winner.”

Supporters successful Rio de Janeiro acceptable disconnected fireworks and cheered. People successful downtown São Paulo honked horns and sang done windows: “Lula there,” the astir celebrated jingle of the president-elect. And different tune: “Tá na hora de Jair ir embora” — It’s clip for Jair to leave. The city’s celebrated Paulista Avenue became a oversea of pro-Lula celebrants.

“Lula is simply a myth. The Brazilian Mandela,” said Jussara Brito, 50, a caregiver who said she saw excessively galore patients dice from the coronavirus, which Bolsonaro dismissed arsenic a “little cold.” “Seeing Bolsonaro permission is simply a relief. He is simply a murderer. I worked connected the pandemic, helium could person prevented thousands of deaths. Today, his decision is simply a relief. Today was the reply that the Brazilian radical gave him.”

In the capital, Brasilia, hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters gathered successful the Esplanada, wherever a antheral with a loudspeaker urged the crowds not to concede and to hold for their “leader’s statement.”

“We are with you, President Bolsonaro,” helium said. “Lula thief, you beryllium successful prison!” the assemblage chanted successful unison.

Late Sunday, reports emerged of Bolsonaro loyalists blocking roads.

In Mato Grosso, the institution that manages highways successful the authorities said astatine slightest 4 stretches of a road were blocked. In Santa Catarina, Bolsonaro supporters besides chopped disconnected a agelong of a road crossed the state, according to the UOL outlet.

“Lula volition not beryllium our president,” says a pistillate successful a video from the Mato Grosso protestation shared by O Globo.

As voting unfolded earlier successful the day, Brazil’s astir bitterly fought predetermination since the illness of the subject dictatorship successful 1985 descended into allegations of constabulary attempting to suppress the vote. The Federal Highway Police, an enactment intimately allied with Bolsonaro, allegedly acceptable up roadblocks to hold voters successful the country’s impoverished Northeast and different centers of enactment for Lula.

Highway constabulary manager Silvinei Vasques had earlier posted a telephone to ballot for Bolsonaro connected Instagram, the paper O Globo reported. It was aboriginal deleted. Sen. Randolfe Rodrigues, a Lula supporter, demanded his contiguous arrest. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, Brazil’s main predetermination official, ordered Vasques to halt the operations instantly oregon look idiosyncratic fines of astir $100,000 per hour.

Later Sunday, however, Moraes sought to calm concerns of a broader effort that could taint the vote. He said checkpoints had delayed, but not prevented, voters from casting their ballots, and helium would not widen voting hours beyond the planned 5 p.m. close.

“There was nary prejudice to the close to ballot … There is nary request to overstate this issue,” Moraes said. “There were nary cases wherever voters went home.”

Despite the connection from Moraes, who has often locked horns with Bolsonaro, Lula’s Worker’s Party demanded an hold of the polls successful the 560 places wherever it said “illegal” constabulary operations had taken place. The enactment called for prioritizing extensions successful the Northeast, wherever it said the operations were carried retired “with greater intensity.”

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court announced the effect conscionable earlier 8 p.m. Brasilia time. Bolsonaro did not instantly concede the race, and uncertainty remained implicit whether helium would. As precocious arsenic Friday night, helium said, “whoever has the astir votes wins. That is democracy.”

But helium and his supporters besides laid the groundwork to contention a nonaccomplishment with months of allegations of fraud. Bolsonaro summoned overseas diplomats successful July to formed uncertainty connected physics voting. Some analysts predicted that Bolsonaro, who followed overmuch of the Trump playbook during his emergence to powerfulness and portion successful office, could bash the aforesaid successful defeat: garbage to concede and state Lula’s presidency illegitimate.

Another parallel: Bolsonaro’s nonaccomplishment comes arsenic the specter of transgression investigations hangs implicit him and his family.

Some of Bolsonaro’s allies encouraged him to concede: “It is clip to disarm the spirit, widen your manus to your opponents,” House Speaker Arthur Lira said. “We reaffirm the fairness, the stableness and the confirmation of the fashionable will. We cannot judge revanchism and persecution from immoderate side. Now it is clip to look ahead.”

Speaking to journalists precocious Sunday, Moraes said helium had called some candidates to pass them of the effect earlier the court’s announcement of the winner, but suggested the conversations had been abbreviated and to the point. Bolsonaro, helium said, had responded “with utmost politeness.” He described the elections arsenic cleanable and secure, and insisted determination was nary “real risk” the results could beryllium contested. “This is portion of the regularisation of law,” helium said.

“There has been large polarization and present it is much up to the winners to unite the country,” helium said.

In the United States, the contention took connected the consciousness of a proxy warfare betwixt Democrats and Republicans. In a missive to President Biden, legislature Democrats warned that Bolsonaro’s “reckless and unsafe rhetoric astir electoral fraud raise[s] superior fears” that helium volition effort to “impede a peaceful transportation of powerfulness if helium loses.” Trump, meanwhile, endorsed Bolsonaro, telling Brazilians successful a video shared connected the incumbent’s Twitter relationship connected Saturday that “you person a accidental to elite 1 of the large radical successful each of authorities and successful each of enactment of countries.”

Biden was speedy to admit Lula’s triumph Sunday: “I nonstop my congratulations to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva connected his predetermination to beryllium the adjacent president of Brazil pursuing free, fair, and credible elections,” helium said successful a statement. “I look guardant to moving unneurotic to proceed the practice betwixt our 2 countries successful the months and years ahead.”

With 99.99 percent of the ballot counted, Lula was declared the victor with 50.90 percent of the vote. Bolsonaro had 49.10 percent. The transportation of powerfulness is acceptable for the archetypal days of January.

The candidates sparred implicit who would connection much assistance for the mediocre and who would rise the minimum wage. But they besides became profoundly mired successful the civilization wars present emblematic of modern democracies plagued by polarization. For Lula, the occupation of nationalist healer volition not beryllium easy.

Many economists and governmental analysts presumption Lula arsenic a pragmatic elder statesman, but Bolsonaro’s halfway supporters revile him. Danya Dorado, a 44-year-old housewife, who waved a emblem with Bolsonaro’s look successful Brasilia, described herself arsenic “anguished” by the results — which she did not judge to beryllium true. “I americium acceptable to combat for my state due to the fact that I bash not privation my children and grandchildren to unrecorded successful a 2nd Venezuela,” she said.

Election Day successful Brazil became a planetary experimentation connected the powerfulness of misinformation. False narratives dispersed by Bolsonaro and his supporters successful nationalist comments and connected societal media insisted Lula would adjacent churches and unfastened unisex bathrooms successful schools. Lula dismissed those claims arsenic blatant lies, but galore Bolsonaro supporters astatine the polls Sunday steadfastly believed them.

“We can’t conscionable person 1 bath for a kid to usage with men of my age,” said Mario Antonio Castro, an histrion who voted for Bolsonaro successful Rio de Janeiro’s Flamengo neighborhood. He said he’d besides heard that Lula was offering “beer and steak” to those who voted for him. “There are rules that beryllium your full life. People nary longer respect rules.”

Others saw a civic work successful voting retired Bolsonaro, who successful caller days claimed that Lula’s beardown enactment successful the Brazilian Northeast — a portion with a disproportionately ample colonisation of radical of colour — was owed to precocious “illiteracy rates” there.

“I’m a Black pistillate and I americium a parent of 3 kids,” said Vanda Ventura, a 49-year aged stylist who voted successful Rio. “The authorities successful Brasilia does not correspond me.” Asked if she thought Black radical successful Brazil would ballot for Bolsonaro, she said: “Not the Black radical I know. … The Black radical who privation liberty, who privation to spell to college, and privation to turn and who privation nutrient volition not ballot for this genocidal man.”

In the capital, nationalist tensions came to a caput astatine a downtown polling station, wherever respective voters wearing the telltale colors of their candidates — greenish and yellowish for Bolsonaro, reddish for Lula — squared disconnected successful slur-shouting screaming matches, signaling the heavy polarization successful the country.

“Bolsonaro out!” a young antheral wearing a reddish garment shouted astatine a Bolsonaro protagonist arsenic helium walked into the polling presumption astatine the University Center of Brasilia. “Maconheiro!” — a derogatory connection successful Portuguese that astir translates arsenic ‘stoner’ — the pistillate shouted back.

The aforesaid pistillate engaged different Lula protagonist successful a akin shouting match, starring constabulary to intervene. Leonardo Rodrigues de Jesus, Bolsonaro’s nephew and a erstwhile main of unit for his eldest son, told a Washington Post newsman that a antheral shouting astatine a pistillate was “precisely the benignant of leftist behavior” the state needed to get escaped of.

Critics accidental Bolsonaro, a erstwhile service officer, has undermined ideology by stocking the prosecutor’s bureau and constabulary with loyalists portion appointing existent and erstwhile generals to his furniture and different elder posts. If helium had won the race, they feared, helium mightiness person sought to grow the Supreme Court, a assemblage helium has said is biased against him.

Lula, casting himself arsenic the defender of Brazil’s young democracy, garnered the backing of center-right leaders and erstwhile opponents, including erstwhile president Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

Bolsonaro, known for a blunt mode that included insults aimed astatine women, radical of colour and the LGBTQ community, connected with supporters done fiery societal media posts. As the coronavirus pandemic deed the state hard — it has killed much than 687,000 people, and astatine 1 clip was 2nd successful deaths lone to the United States — helium suggested vaccines could crook radical into “reptiles,” falsely claimed a nexus betwixt the vaccine and AIDS, and touted unproven treatments against covid-19. As the microorganism ravaged the country, Bolsonaro dismissed it arsenic a “little flu” and told Brazilians to halt “whining” and get backmost to work. He often berated the escaped press. During the archetypal televised statement successful the existent campaign, Brazilian writer Vera Magalhães asked him astir the country’s coronavirus vaccination rate.

“I deliberation you spell to slumber reasoning astir me,” Bolsonaro responded to her. “You person a crush connected me.”

But Bolsonaro often reserved his harshest comments for the antheral helium saw arsenic his idiosyncratic nemesis: Lula.

A erstwhile shoeshine lad from a mediocre northeastern household who mislaid a digit astatine property 19 successful a mill accident, Lula became a national person and co-founder of the left-wing Worker’s Party. After 3 failed runs astatine the nation’s highest office, helium won his archetypal word arsenic president successful 2002 and reelection 4 years latter.

His triumph initially rattled investors, who feared the emergence of a extremist leftist.

Lula would calm those fears by dragging his enactment toward the halfway portion helium leveraged the planetary commodities roar of the 2000s to summation societal spending and motorboat programs that reduced the hunger rate, lifted millions retired of poorness and sent the children of mediocre Brazilian families to assemblage for the archetypal time. Former U.S. President Barack Obama called him “the astir fashionable president connected Earth.” He near bureau successful 2011 with a 2nd word successful 2011 with an support standing supra 80 percent.

His medication was marred by governmental scandal, including a vote-buying lawsuit successful Congress that engulfed members of his interior circle. Claims person emerged that Lula knew astir it. He has maintained helium did not.

In 2018, Lula turned himself him successful to service a 12-year condemnation connected abstracted charges of accepting bribes from 1 of the country’s large operation companies. Though Lula maintained his innocence, his apprehension kept him retired of the 2018 predetermination that Bolsonaro won. To the outrage of Bolsonaro, who has called Lula “a nine-fingered thief,” helium was released from situation successful 2019 erstwhile the Supreme Court ruled helium had been denied owed process. The charges against him were annulled 2 years later.

“They didn’t fastener up a man,” helium declared connected the time helium was freed. “They tried to termination an idea. But an thought can’t beryllium destroyed.”

During the campaign, Lula mostly spoke successful wide themes. He promised to combat hunger and poorness and to dilatory the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, which accelerated nether Bolsonaro, and suggested an summation of taxes connected the rich. Few observers judge helium is apt to suggest monolithic spending plans oregon instrumentality extremist steps to redistribute wealth.

“Lula understands good that each policies person to beryllium fiscally sustainable and that ample fund deficits volition backfire successful his effort to beryllium progressive successful societal issues,” said Paulo Calmon, prof astatine the University of Brasilia. “He surely volition effort to support immoderate fiscal consistency successful his policies.”

What Bolsonaro does adjacent volition beryllium key. Some accidental helium mightiness permission the state to debar the anticipation of prosecution for alleged crimes including a bloated vaccine woody astatine the wellness ministry and mishandling the pandemic. Others expect him to stay successful Brazil, transforming himself into a formidable absorption person who volition question to undermine Lula and stoke nationalist divisions arsenic helium bides his clip for the adjacent election.

Bolsonaro tin number connected a loyal basal of outspoken nationalist lawmakers, arsenic good arsenic almighty governors successful immoderate of the country’s largest states. His astir almighty limb remains an service of integer followers, which helium has wielded arsenic a limb to physique oregon destruct governmental careers.

In governing a divided nation, Lula mightiness payment from the quality of Brazilian politics. Victors whitethorn gully lawmakers who did not backmost them during the run to autumn successful enactment with pork tube spending and backroom deals.

But immoderate observers spot a chaotic paper this clip around.

“The quality of the close successful Brazil has changed,” said Guilherme Casarões, a governmental expert astatine the Getulio Vargas Foundation successful São Paulo. “All they cared astir earlier were bureau positions and resources, truthful Lula could tally an medication adjacent with the assistance of the right. But there’s a caller benignant of right, a ace ideological benignant of right, a Bolsonarista benignant of right. And the pro-Bolsonaro question is not astir governmental pragmatism. It’s astir full loyalty and submission to what Bolsonaro thinks is right.”

Villegas reported from Brasilia and Sa Pessoa from São Paulo. Kiratiana Freelon successful Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.