With 99% of votes counted via an electronic system that tallies final results in a matter of hours\u2014and which was repeatedly aspersed by Bolsonaro in an effort to cast doubt on the election\u2019s veracity\u2014da Silva led the incumbent by more than two million ballots, or nearly two percentage points.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrazil is my cause, the people are my cause, and fighting poverty is the reason why I will live until the end of my life,\u201d da Silva said during his victory speech.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as it depends on us, there will be no lack of love,\u201d he vowed. \u201cWe will take great care of Brazil and the Brazilian people. We will live in a new time. Of peace, of love, and of hope. A time when the Brazilian people will once again have the right to dream. And the opportunities to realize what you dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Da Silva, the 77-year-old co-founder of the left-wing Workers\u2019 Party (PT), became the first challenger to defeat an incumbent president since the restoration of democracy in 1985. His campaign overcame a rampant social media-driven<\/a> disinformation campaign, political violence including the assassination<\/a> on Friday of a PT congressional candidate, and what observers called massive Election Day voter suppression<\/a> by federal police to win a third term for the man Brazilians endearingly call Lula.<\/p>\n Bolsonaro\u2014who has threatened to reject the results if he lost\u2014and his far-right nationalism will remain a powerful force in Brazilian politics despite his ouster.<\/p>\n Derided by critics as the \u201cTrump of the Tropics,\u201d Bolsonaro\u2019s tenure was marked by accelerated environmental destruction, especially of the Amazon rainforest<\/a>; gross mishandling<\/a> of the Covid-19 pandemic, which killed more people in Brazil than in any other country save the United States; disdain and disregard<\/a> for the rights of Indigenous peoples; rampant bigotry<\/a>; and incessant flirtation<\/a> with authoritarianism.<\/p>\n Amazon Watch<\/b><\/p>\n @amazonwatch<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We\u2019re heartened that Bolsonaro, who oversaw colossal destruction of the Amazon and policies imperiling Earth Defenders, did not prevail today. We stand with Brazil\u2019s Indigenous movement, now and in the years ahead. The struggle for the rainforest & its peoples continues!<\/p>\n 9:23 PM \u00b7 Oct 30, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBolsonaro lost, but Bolsonarism emerged victorious. The numbers don\u2019t lie,\u201d tweeted<\/a> S\u00e3o Paulo state lawmaker Erica Malunguinho, a reference to the incumbent\u2019s more than 58 million votes. \u201cOur project must be political and pedagogical.\u201d<\/p>\n There was utter silence from Bolsonaro, his campaign, and his erstwhile-outspoken relatives for hours after the race was called for da Silva.<\/p>\n Journalist Marlos \u00c1pyus tweeted<\/a>, \u201cLet him go in silence. As for me, I\u2019ll never hear his voice again.\u201d<\/p>\n Jubilant crowds thronged the streets of cities including S\u00e3o Paulo and Rio de Janeiro Sunday evening. Drivers honked horns and people cheered and chanted slogans including the popular campaign jingle \u201cLula l\u00e1\u201d\u2014\u201dLula\u2019s there\u201d\u2014and \u201cT\u00e1 na hora de Jair ir embora\u201d\u2014\u201dTime for Jair to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n Brazilian and international progressives, as well as many of the nation\u2019s poor, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, women, intellectuals, artists, and people of color celebrated the imminent return of da Silva to the Pal\u00e1cio da Alvorada, which he occupied for two terms from 2003 to 2010.<\/p>\n \u201cNo more fear! With peace, love, and hope we will dream again,\u201d tweeted<\/a> Brazilian author Bianca Santana. \u201cAnd we will work to live a full democracy where all people fit.\u201d<\/p>\n Maria do Ros\u00e1rio, a PT member of the Chamber of Deputies\u2014the lower house of Brazil\u2019s National Congress\u2014representing Rio Grande do Sul, exalted<\/a>: \u201cToday is the Day of Respect for Brazilian Women, it\u2019s Workers\u2019 Day, the Day of the Free Press and transparency. Today is Children\u2019s Day and the fight against pedophilia; Day of the family and victims of Covid; Today is the day of courage and love. I hug you for that!\u201d<\/p>\n PSOL 50<\/b><\/p>\n @psol50<\/p>\n \u00b7O AMOR DERROTOU O \u00d3DIO! A DEMOCRACIA DERROTOU O FASCISMO! VIVA!!! VAMOS COMEMORAR!!!<\/p>\n 8:15 PM \u00b7 Oct 30, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted<\/a> that \u201ctoday, the people of Brazil have voted for democracy, workers\u2019 rights, and environmental sanity. I congratulate Lula on his hard-fought victory and look forward to a strong and prosperous relationship between the United States and Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman called<\/a> da Silva\u2019s victory \u201ca win for our values and a better world.\u201d<\/p>\n Sunrise Movement\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n @sunrisemvmt<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sending love to the people of Brazil who ousted a right wing extremist destroying the planet and elected Lula, a union leader who will give us a shot at a livable future.<\/p>\n Thank you for making us feel hope.<\/p>\n 7:53 PM \u00b7 Oct 30, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n University of California, Berkeley sociology professor Daniel Aldana Cohen said<\/a> that \u201cLula\u2019s narrow victory is still a massive win for Brazil: for its working class, its Black and Indigenous communities, and against fascism. It\u2019s also a win for the Amazon and the planet itself\u2014and thus [very] good news for the multiracial working class of the whole world.\u201d<\/p>\n Reuters<\/i> climate correspondent Jake Spring tweeted<\/a>, \u201cThe lungs of the Earth will breathe easier tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Although criticized by the hard left for his previous administration\u2019s neoliberal economic policies<\/a>, da Silva is beloved by millions of Brazilians for his lifelong advocacy for the poor, workers, minorities, and rural and Indigenous people. As president, he lifted millions of Brazilians from poverty through sweeping social programs including Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) and Bolsa Familia (Family Allowance), while presiding over Brazil\u2019s rise into the top tier of world economies. Former U.S. President Barack Obama called<\/a> him the \u201cmost popular politician on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n However, da Silva\u2019s focus on social uplift at the expense of the oligarchy earned him powerful enemies at home, and his solidarity with leftist Latin American leaders and opposition to U.S. imperialism made him a target of many in Washington and on Wall Street.<\/p>\n In 2017, da Silva was controversially convicted of corruption and money laundering in connection with the sweeping \u201cCar Wash\u201d<\/a> scandal and spent 580 days behind bars before being freed<\/a> when the Brazilian supreme court found his incarceration unlawful. Last year, the high court annulled several criminal convictions against da Silva, restoring<\/a> his political rights and setting the stage for his 2022 run.<\/p>\n Da Silva\u2019s win is the latest in a string of leftist victories in Latin America and represents a significant counterbalance to the resurgence of right-wing politics in other parts of the world.<\/p>\n Lula’s victory in Brazil means leftists now lead Latin America’s seven largest nations by population and six largest by GDP. #PatriaGrande<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n