Brazil’s President Lula wins election
Opponent calls for results to be ‘annulled’ after loss
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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, was reelected Sunday in a result that provides relief to critics of widening U.S. influence in Latin America.
With 100% of the vote counted, Brazil's electoral court announced that the soon to be 81-year-old Lula had a lead of nearly 4.4 million votes -- 51.8% of the total vote -- over opponent Flavio Bolsonaro. The announcement capped an evening of chaos at polling places across Brazil, following a last-minute decision to extend voting by two hours.
Late Sunday, Bolsonaro refused to concede defeat, calling the move to extend voting hours unprecedented -- though both he and Lula made the request -- and asked for the election results to be annulled, saying they were impossible to accept.
Lula's triumph bucks a trend in Latin America where increasing numbers of right-of-center presidential candidates allied with Trump have been winning. Lula's victory leaves Mexico and Brazil, Latin America's two most populous nations, with left-of-center leaders. It also positions Latin America's largest economy, with a GDP of $2.6 trillion per year, to remain independent of the U.S., despite the pressure of increased tariffs imposed by Trump.
A video published by Lula's campaign shows the veteran leader celebrating with First Lady Rosangela da Silva and allies after his runoff victory was confirmed by Brazil's electoral court. Wearing star-shaped red glasses, he kissed his wife. Hundreds of his supporters began gathering on Sao Paulo's main artery to celebrate the victory.
In Rio de Janeiro, cars beeped their horns and a woman dressed in red -- the color of Lula supporters -- shouted "You lost! Cry harder!" to four men in yellow and green sipping beers, Bolsonaro's signature colors. A huge roar echoed in the street as the result was confirmed.