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Brazilian voters narrowly decided against a second term for far-right President Jair Bolsonaro at national elections on Oct. 30, opting instead for the return of leftwing former President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, who took 50.9% of the vote against Bolsonaro\u2019s 49.1%, according to the official tally.<\/p>\n
The result is a\u00a0stunning political comeback\u00a0for Lula\u2014as the 77-year-old president-elect is universally known. Lula left office in 2010 with an 83% approval rating, after overseeing an economic boom and a jump in living standards for poorer Brazilians. But in 2017, federal prosecutors implicated Lula in a vast corruption scheme and sent him to prison on charges of accepting a bribe. He, and Brazil\u2019s left, have always denied the allegations, and, in 2021, Brazil\u2019s Supreme Court overturned his conviction, ruling that his right to a fair trial had been compromised. That cleared him to run for president again this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI experienced a resurrection in Brazilian politics,\u201d Lula said\u00a0on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0as he celebrated his victory. \u201cThey tried to bury me alive, and now I\u2019m here to rule the country\u2014in a very difficult situation, but I am sure that with the help of the people we will find a way out and restore peace.\u201d<\/p>\n The race was Brazil\u2019s closest-run in three decades. Voters faced a stark ideological choice between Lula, a progressive leftist, and Bolsonaro, a deeply conservative populist who promised to defend Christian values in Brazil. Bolsonaro becomes the first incumbent to lose a re-election bid in Brazil since the 1990s.<\/p>\n