Lula begins fourth term as Flávio Bolsonaro seeks to annul the election

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil's presidential runoff on October 25, securing a fourth, non-consecutive term. According to final figures from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Lula won 64,256,232 votes (51.79 percent) and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro 59,826,041 (48.21 percent), a margin of about 4.4 million votes. Turnout was 80.78 percent.

Lula became the first candidate since the return of democracy in 1985 to win a runoff after finishing second in the first round. In the October 4 election, Bolsonaro won 47.03 percent and Lula 45.16 percent. The new term begins on January 5, 2027.

Bolsonaro does not recognize the result

"It is impossible to recognize the results. I will seek the annulment of this election," Flávio Bolsonaro said in a brief address in Brasília. The dispute concerns the Superior Court's decision to extend voting by two hours, after Lula requested it, arguing that buses taken out of service had prevented citizens from reaching polling stations. Bolsonaro called the decision "unacceptable" and a "dirty trick," although he himself had sought an extension in some regions because of heavy rain.

Flávio is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup after his defeat by Lula in 2022.

Regional context

Lula's victory slows Latin America's shift to the right: Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and Chile have recently elected right-wing presidents, while Trump remains without an ally in the region's largest country. Lula was nonetheless congratulated by Chilean President José Antonio Kast and Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, both close to Trump, as well as by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Lula faces a hostile Congress. According to estimates cited by TIME, Bolsonaro's Liberal Party and its allies could control more than 280 of the 513 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and up to 50 of the 81 seats in the Senate. Lula, who has turned 81, will be 85 at the end of his term in 2030.