360Top story World · Brazil
Lula wins Brazil's runoff in a historic comeback
The story in 60 words
Lula da Silva has won Brazil's presidential runoff, taking about 51.8% of valid votes to Flávio Bolsonaro's 48.2%. It is a record fourth term and a historic comeback after Lula trailed in the first round. Flávio refuses to concede and wants the courts to annul the vote. From January 2027, Lula faces a powerful opposition in Congress and high debt.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has won Brazil's presidential runoff, securing a record fourth term after one of the closest and most dramatic races in the country's modern history.
With nearly all votes counted on Sunday, October 25, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) put Lula on about 51.8% of valid votes. His rival, senator Flávio Bolsonaro, took about 48.2%. The gap was roughly 4.4 million votes in a country of more than 150 million voters.
The win is a historic comeback. In the first round on October 4, Flávio led with 47.03% to Lula's 45.16%. Since Brazil returned to direct presidential elections in 1989, no candidate had lost the first round and then won the runoff. Final polls had pointed to a near tie, with some showing Flávio slightly ahead.
The count itself swung back and forth. Early returns put Flávio in front, and with more than a third of votes counted he still led by around half a point. Lula pulled ahead as the later results came in, and the TSE declared the race mathematically decided late on Sunday night.
Flávio, the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, has refused to concede. He said he does not recognize the result and that his legal team will ask the courts to annul the vote. His complaint centres on a two-hour extension of voting ordered by a Supreme Court justice, which led the TSE to pause the count. So far, no court has accepted his challenges.
Lula publicly thanked his voters once the electoral court confirmed the result. He turns 81 this week and will begin his new four-year term in January 2027.
The road ahead looks difficult. Bolsonaro's Liberal Party will hold the largest bench in Congress in decades, which means Lula will need to build alliances to pass his agenda. Brazil also faces high public debt, and Brazilian stocks fell sharply on Monday as investors reacted to the result and the dispute over it.
For now, the country's attention turns to the courts, and to whether the Bolsonaro camp's challenge goes beyond words. Brazilians, and Brazil's neighbours across Latin America, will be watching closely in the weeks ahead.
Sources: Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) results as reported by France 24, Al Jazeera, PBS NewsHour, CNBC and Latin Times.