Leftist Luis Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday defeated President Jair Bolsonaro in an election runoff that marked a stunning comeback for Lula and the end of Brazil's most right-wing government in decades.
Supporters of Brazil's former President and presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva react as they wait for the election's results at Paulista Avenue, Sao Paulo, Brazil, October 30, 2022. Lula defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. REUTERS/Amanda Perobellielection runoff
The vote was a rebuke for the fiery far-right populism of Bolsonaro, who emerged from the back benches of Congress to forge a novel conservative coalition but lost support as Brazil ran up one of the worst death tolls of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was greeted by ecstatic supporters at a rally on Sao Paulo's Paulista Avenue ahead of a planned speech. Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin and campaign aides jumped up and down chanting, "It's time Jair, it's time to leave already," in a video circulating on social media.
His victory consolidates a new "pink tide" in Latin America, after landmark leftist victories in Colombia and Chile's elections, echoing a regional political shift two decades ago that introduced Lula to the world stage.