The leftist former president’s win marks an extraordinary comeback for a man who was in jail for corruption three years ago
SÃO PAULO—Brazil’s leftist former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat conservative incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the country’s closest presidential race in history Sunday, cementing Latin America’s shift to the left and marking an extraordinary comeback for a man who was in jail for corruption three years ago.
After a marathon of campaign rallies in the poorest corners of the country to appeal to voters hungry for a return to Brazil’s more prosperous past, Mr. da Silva, who last presided over Brazil from 2003 to 2010, clinched 60 million votes to secure 50.9% of the electorate to 49.1% for his rival in the runoff, with 99.5% of the votes counted, electoral authorities reported.
Mr. Bolsonaro became the first president to fail to win re-election in the 25 years since a constitutional amendment made re-election possible. As of 10:20 p.m. local time, he hadn’t publicly responded to the results. Mr. da Silva’s victory in Brazil means that every major country in Latin America, from Argentina to Mexico, will be led by a leftist government when he takes office on Jan. 1.
Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/brazils-jair-bolsonaro-luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva-face-off-in-tense-presidential-runoff-11667065780?mod=hp_lead_pos7
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