{"id":11580,"date":"2026-10-26T21:05:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T21:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=11580"},"modified":"2026-10-26T21:05:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T21:05:48","slug":"lula-mobilized-millions-to-win-brazils-election-while-bolsonaro-contests-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=11580","title":{"rendered":"Lula mobilized millions to win Brazil’s election, while Bolsonaro contests victory"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Workers’ Party (PT) candidate for presidential re-election, celebrates with his wife, Rosangela “Janja” da Silva, and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin after winning the presidential runoff election, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday. Reuters-Yonhap<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BRASILIA \u2014 President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva’s comeback to win Brazil\u2019s presidential runoff Sunday is already facing its first hurdle as his competitor, Sen. Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro, challenges the results, setting the stage for a possible showdown between the country\u2019s two polarizing political forces.<\/p>\n

Lula, who convinced an extra 10.4 million voters to support him in the runoff, is expected to take office on Jan. 5, 2027, for his fourth non-consecutive term. He will serve as a counterweight in a region where leaders are shifting to the right and aligning with U.S. President Donald Trump. Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, promised to cozy up to the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

At a news conference Sunday, Bolsonaro said he planned to request an annulment of the election following a chaotic extension of voting at the request of both candidates. However, it’s unclear what legal avenue he would have to do that. His father also contested his loss to Lula four years ago and now serves a 27-year prison sentence for a coup attempt.<\/p>\n

Early signs from Brazil\u2019s institutions and from leaders across the region, including conservative presidents who oppose Lula, suggest the results will be respected nationally and internationally. Trump has yet to weigh in.<\/p>\n

Even with the vote extension, Lula\u2019s win was decisive. The soon-to-be 81-year-old incumbent won more than 64 million votes compared to just under 60 million for Bolsonaro, a margin of nearly 4 percent.<\/p>\n

President of Brazil\u2019s electoral authority, Kassio Nunes, who was appointed to the Supreme Court by ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, was among those who recognized Lula\u2019s victory Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really uphill battle for Flavio Bolsonaro. Important Brazilian power brokers are closing ranks behind Lula, sometimes begrudgingly,” said Brian Winter, Brazil analyst and editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sense that Brazilian power brokers that matter don\u2019t really want to go down the path of a truly contested election,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The numbers behind Lula’s victory<\/p>\n

The key to Lula\u2019s win was the additional 14.1 million voters who showed up for the second-round election, including those who voted for other candidates in the first round. Analysts say three-quarters of those votes went to Lula, handing him the victory. And notably, the first round set a record for the number of Brazilians who decided not to vote, while the second round had the least number of abstentions ever.<\/p>\n

Lula gave his digital campaign to lawmaker Andr\u00e9 Janones, who mounted a fierce and persistent social media operation that mobilized many of those previously uncommitted voters. Janones’ key tool was a channel on messaging app WhatsApp called \u201cLula’s Army,\u201d which gathered almost 11 million people and mobilized them to campaign via social media for the incumbent.<\/p>\n

Janones \u201cbasically embraced the right\u2019s style of aggressive politics, very intense, constant messaging,\u201d said Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of International Relations at Funda\u00e7\u00e3o Getulio Vargas in Sao Paulo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe defeat in the first round jolted the Lula campaign into action. The strategy during the first round was lackluster and saw a lot of infighting,\u201d Stuenkel said.<\/p>\n

Juliano Cortinhas, international relations professor at the University of Bras\u00edlia, said Lula’s social media initiative in the runoff was also key to pressuring Meta, the owner of Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, to end what the president’s campaign denounced as bias helping Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n

Brazil\u2019s top electoral court ruled on Oct.15 that Meta must adopt measures that assure equal treatment of the two presidential candidates, which the company later said it addressed.<\/p>\n

There was \u201cexternal interference we were suffering by major platforms,\u201d Cortinhas said. \u201cIt wasn’t only Meta, many others were using their algorithms to repost many images and many messages of the far-right, and they did not do the same to the left.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was the first time since 1989 that a candidate came from behind in the first round to win in the second.<\/p>\n

Results show voter turnout surged overall, particularly in wealthier metropolitan centers, but Lula achieved his highest gains in lower-income municipalities where his base was already established. He mobilized former non-voters, those who voted blank in the first round and supporters of third-party candidates.<\/p>\n

Jorge Henrique Oliveira Sena, a 26-year-old maintenance worker in Brasilia, was one of those who didn\u2019t vote in the first round. Neither candidate excited him much, but he cast his vote for Lula. \u201cIt\u2019s not a question of supporting, but between the two, I had more of a connection with him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Brazil’s voting system and Sunday’s disruptions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brazil holds general elections every four years, and its electronic voting machines have made the tallying process quick and secure.<\/p>\n

Brazilian authorities adopted electronic voting machines in the 1990s to combat fraud and the system has been largely reliable since then. Results are usually reported mere hours after polls close.<\/p>\n

In the lead-up to the 2022 vote, Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly cast unfounded doubts on Brazil\u2019s electronic voting system. No significant fraud has ever been detected.<\/p>\n

But the usually swift voting process was thrown into disarray Sunday after a last-minute decision to extend voting nationwide at both candidates\u2019 requests.<\/p>\n

Lula made the request because of issues with public transportation in metropolis, Sao Paulo, and the northeastern city of Salvador, two of his strongholds. Bolsonaro requested it after heavy rains in the south, which he won by a strong margin in the first round.<\/p>\n

The decision was made by a Supreme Court justice mere minutes before polls were set to close at 5 p.m. and the speed of Brazil\u2019s counting process meant many polling stations didn\u2019t receive the news until they were already wrapping up.<\/p>\n

Yet given the reliability of Brazil’s voting system and Lula’s win by a significant margin, a path to annul the results could be difficult for Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Gedan, senior fellow and director of the Stimson Center Latin America program, said Bolsonaro’s rejection of his loss was not surprising.<\/p>\n

\u201cFalse claims of fraud are becoming commonplace, though that does not make them any less dangerous,” he said. He noted \u201cLula\u2019s margin of victory, and the quick recognition of the result by conservative leaders in the region.”<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Lula still faces challenges moving forward, including political polarization in the country, a possible fiscal crisis and a right-wing Congress in which Bolsonaro’s party will have more seats than any other. Bolsonaro himself remains a senator, though his term ends in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t underestimate the power of the Bolsonaro family,” said Winter, the Brazil analyst. “They can make life difficult for Lula for weeks and months to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Workers’ Party (PT) candidate for presidential re-election, celebrates with his wife, Rosangela “Janja” da Silva, and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin after winning the presidential runoff election, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday. Reuters-Yonhap BRASILIA \u2014 President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva’s comeback to win Brazil\u2019s presidential runoff Sunday…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-korea","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t