• Analysis
How did Lula beat Bolsonaro when the rest of the ballot went right?
How did Lula beat Bolsonaro in Brazil's presidential runoff when most other federal and state races on the same ballot went to conservatives and the far-right? That is the question raised by the win of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, secured two days shy of his 81st birthday.
A win against the grain of the ballot
The runoff that returned President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to office stood out from the rest of Brazil's vote. Three weeks before the second round, most races at the federal and state level broke the way of conservatives and the far-right. The presidential contest alone ran the other way.
Lula turned a 2.2 million vote deficit against the far-right's Flavio Bolsonaro into a 4.4 million vote win. In doing so he became the first candidate since Brazil's return to democracy in the 1980s to win the presidential runoff after trailing in the first round.
- •Lula won the runoff against Flavio Bolsonaro
- •His first-round deficit was 2.2 million votes
- •His final margin was 4.4 million votes
- •Most other federal and state races went to the right
A bitter campaign that showed his age
The veteran leader came from behind in the polls after a bitter campaign in which he often showed his age. He won two days shy of his 81st birthday.
Meddling claims and a digital turnaround
During the runoff period, the incumbent blasted Meta and accused the United States and its tech titans of meddling, while managing to turn around his own digital campaign. The WhatsApp effort was organized in a hurry on Meta-owned WhatsApp by Congressman André Janones.
One ballot among many votes worldwide
The vote came amid a wider question of how Brazil balances relations between the United States and its top trading partner China. The Middle East held its breath over Tuesday's general election in Israel, as the campaign turned nastier ahead of next week's US midterms. Big elections were also coming up in Spain, Italy, Poland and France.
