Brazil's electoral authority said Sunday that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the leftist Worker's Party defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro to become the country's next president.
Brazil's electoral authority said Sunday that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the leftist Worker's Party defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro to become the country's next president., da Silva had 50.9% and Bolsonaro 49.1%, and the election authority said da Silva's victory was a mathematical certainty.
Candidate Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva of Workers' Party greets supporters after casting his vote and giving a press conference on October 30, 2022 in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.Da Silva's inauguration is scheduled to take place on Jan. 1. He last served as president from 2003-2010. Bolsonaro had been leading throughout the first half of the count and, as soon as da Silva overtook him, cars in the streets of downtown Sao Paulo began honking their horns. People in the streets of Rio de Janeiro's Ipanema neighborhood could be heard shouting,"It turned!"
Most opinion polls before the election gave a lead to da Silva, universally known as Lula, though political analysts agreed the race grew increasingly tight in recent weeks. Incumbent Jair Bolsonaro of Liberal Party casts his vote at Vila Militar district on October 30, 2022 in Brasilia, Brazil.Da Silva is credited with building an extensive social welfare program during his 2003-2010 tenure that helped lift tens of millions into the middle class as well as presiding over an economic boom. The man universally known as Lula left office with an approval rating above 80%; then U.S. President Barack Obama called him"the most popular politician on Earth.
Da Silva has pledged to boost spending on the poor, reestablish relationships with foreign governments and take bold action to eliminate illegal clear-cutting in the Amazon rainforest.