Key Points
- Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called for "peace and unity" after narrowly winning a divisive runoff election on Sunday.
- Mr Lula had 50.8 per cent of votes compared with 49.2 per cent for Mr Bolsonaro with 99.1 per cent of voting machines counted.
Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called for "peace and unity" after narrowly winning a divisive runoff election on Sunday, capping a remarkable political comeback by defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who has yet to concede defeat.
Mr da Silva, widely known as Lula, had 50.8 per cent of votes compared with 49.2 per cent for Mr Bolsonaro with 99.1 per cent of voting machines counted, which the Supreme Electoral Court said was enough to "mathematically define" the outcome of the race.
The runoff capped a bruising campaign that has left the South American nation of 215 million people deeply split between supporters of conservative ex-army captain Mr Bolsonaro, those of charismatic ex-metalworker Lula, and many others more or less equally disgusted by both.
A supporter of the elected president for the leftist Workers Party (PT) Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva celebrates after her candidate won the presidential runoff election. Source: Getty, AFP / Sergio Lima
"It is in no one's interest to live in a divided nation in a permanent state of war."
Mr Bolsonaro, the vitriolic hardline conservative dubbed the "Tropical Trump," has become the first incumbent president not to win re-election in the post-dictatorship era.
What will Jair Bolsonaro do now?
All eyes will now be on how Mr Bolsonaro and his supporters will react to the result, after months of alleging — without evidence — that Brazil's electronic voting system is plagued by fraud and that the courts, media and other institutions have conspired against his far-right movement.
Mr Bolsonaro, 67, was silent in the hours after the result was declared.
"I'm hoping the president is meeting with the generals," a Bolsonaro backer in the capital Brasilia told AFP, apparently alluding to a possible power grab.
"We're hoping things will change at any moment," added the 57-year-old dentist, who did not want to give his name, citing Brazil's supposedly hostile courts.
"The Brazilian people aren't going to swallow a faked election and hand our nation over to a thief," said 50-year-old teacher Ruth da Silva Barbosa.
Mr Bolsonaro surged to victory four years ago on a wave of outrage with politics as usual, but came under fire for his disastrous handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left more than 680,000 dead in Brazil, as well as a weak economy, polarising style and attacks on democratic institutions.
What did Lula say?
In his victory speech, Mr da Silva touched on gender and racial equality and the urgent need to deal with a hunger crisis affecting 33.1 million Brazilians.
"Today we tell the world that Brazil is back," he said, adding that the country is "ready to reclaim its place in the fight against the climate crisis, especially the Amazon".
A former union leader born into poverty, Mr da Silva organised strikes against Brazil's military government in the 1970s. His two-term presidency was marked by a commodity-driven economic boom and he left office with record popularity.
However, his Workers Party was later tarred by a deep recession and a record-breaking corruption scandal that jailed him for 19 months on bribery convictions, which were overturned by the Supreme Court last year.
Mr Lula had 50.8 per cent of votes compared with 49.2 per cent for Mr Bolsonaro with 99.1 per cent of voting machines counted Source: Getty, AFP / Pablo Porciuncula
What will Mr Lula's third term look like?
In his third term, Mr da Silva will confront a sluggish economy, tighter budget constraints and a more hostile legislature.
Mr Bolsonaro's allies form the largest bloc in Congress after this month's general election revealed the enduring strength of his conservative coalition.
Mr Bolsonaro has repeatedly made baseless claims of electoral fraud and last year openly discussed refusing to accept the results of the vote. Electoral authorities are bracing for him to dispute the outcome, sources told news agency Reuters, including security preparations in case his supporters take to the streets.
Regardless of how the incumbent reacts, Mr da Silva will face huge challenges from the day he is inaugurated on 1 January.
How are Brazilians reacting?
Decked out in the red of Lula's Workers' Party (PT), supporters exploded into celebration in cities across the country, setting off colourful fireworks in Rio de Janeiro and erupting into huge cheers in Sao Paulo.
"We've had four years of a genocidal, hateful government," said Lula supporter Maria Clara, a 26-year-old student, at a victory party in downtown Rio.
"Today democracy won, and the possibility of dreaming of a better country again."
None of that mattered for the time being to elated Lula supporters.
"Brazil is starting to stand upright again after four years of darkness. We were going through so many problems, so much fear," Larissa Meneses, a 34-year-old developer, said at a joyful victory party in Sao Paulo.
"Now with Lula's victory, I really believe things will start getting better. This is a day to laugh a lot."
In tears, Bolsonaro supporters in the green and yellow of the flag — which the ex-army captain has adopted as his own — meanwhile fell to their knees to pray, gathered outside the seat of government in Brasilia.
What is the reaction around the world?
Leaders from the United States, France and other western and regional nations quickly offered congratulations Sunday to Mr da Silva after his narrow victory was announced.
Shortly after Mr da Silva was declared the winner, US President Joe Biden said in a statement: "I send my congratulations to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his election to be the next president of Brazil following free, fair, and credible elections."
"I look forward to working together to continue the cooperation between our two countries in the months and years ahead," the Democrat added.
French leader Emmanuel Macron also offered his good wishes, saying the poll opened "a new page" in Brazil's history.
"Together, we will join forces to take up the many common challenges and renew the ties of friendship between our two countries," the French president said on Twitter, minutes after the announcement of the final election results.
All eyes in western capitals have been on the outcome of the election, with the future of the Amazon rainforest and its impact on the global climate emergency at stake.
Mr da Silva will be Brazil's leader from from 2023 to 2027. Source: Getty / Wagner Meier/Getty Images
Gustavo Petro, who became Colombia's first leftist president after his election this summer, tweeted simply "Long live Lula".
Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also from the left-wing, tweeted: "Lula won, blessed people of Brazil. There will be equality and humanism."
And Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro offered a "big hug" to Mr da Silva, saying in a tweet: "Long live the peoples determined to be free, sovereign and independent! Today in Brazil democracy triumphed."
