Brazil election officials declared Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the winner of the 2026 presidential contest, giving him a fourth, non-consecutive term after he defeated senator Flávio Bolsonaro by nearly 4.4 million votes.
Key Takeaways
- Brazil’s electoral court declared Lula the winner after all votes were counted.
- Lula’s opponent is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, whom Lula defeated in 2022.
- The result follows a political career spanning union leadership, two earlier presidential terms and imprisonment before his convictions were annulled.
Brazil election result
The electoral court announced Lula’s victory after an election evening marked by confusion at polling stations following a two-hour extension of voting.
The result keeps Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, under left-of-centre leadership. Flávio Bolsonaro is a senator and the son of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president Lula narrowly defeated in 2022.
From metalworker to president
Born into poverty in the northeastern state of Pernambuco, Lula moved with his family to São Paulo as a child. He worked in the automobile industry and became a metalworkers’ union leader, leading strikes between 1978 and 1980 during Brazil’s military dictatorship.
He helped establish the Workers’ Party and, after three unsuccessful presidential campaigns, won the presidency in 2002. He was re-elected in 2006 and left office in 2011.
Social programmes and political comeback
Lula’s first two terms included the introduction in 2003 of Bolsa Família, a cash-transfer programme for low-income families. By 2010, it had enrolled 12.4 million households. His governments also raised the minimum wage from 200 reais to 510 reais.
Lula was later imprisoned following corruption convictions and spent 580 days in prison. Brazil’s Supreme Court annulled his convictions after concerns emerged about the impartiality of the judge who convicted him, clearing the way for his return to electoral politics.
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