Lula wins fourth term in Brazil after historic runoff comeback

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been re-elected in a runoff held on October 25, 2026, securing his fourth presidential term. With 99.96 percent of ballots counted, he received 51.78 percent of valid votes, defeating Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party, who received 48.22 percent. Lula will be sworn in on January 5, 2027.

Lula's victory marks a historic moment in Brazilian democracy. He is the first candidate in Brazil's democratic history to overcome a first-round deficit and win a runoff. Bolsonaro had finished ahead in the first round on October 4 with approximately 47 percent to Lula's 45 percent. Voter turnout in the runoff was 80.79 percent, with 127.8 million citizens participating.

Lula's campaign surged following his first-round defeat, driven by street demonstrations and a significant social media push. The incumbent's re-election bucks a wider trend in Latin America, where voters in larger countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Colombia have recently elected conservative leaders.

However, Lula faces substantial political constraints. He will govern alongside the most right-wing Congress in Brazil's democratic era, with Bolsonaro's Liberal Party gaining significantly in concurrent legislative elections. The result also reveals deep national division, with 48 percent of voters supporting Bolsonaro. Additionally, Lula's administration faces tense relations with the United States under President Donald Trump, who is seen as preferring conservative leadership in the Western Hemisphere. Environmentalists have welcomed the outcome, having worried that a Bolsonaro victory could have led to weakened protections in the Amazon, given record deforestation during his father Jair Bolsonaro's presidency.