Lula Wins Reelection in Brazil by 4.4 Million Votes as Bolsonaro Demands Annulment

Brazil's electoral court confirmed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's reelection Sunday with 100% of the vote counted: 51.8% of the total, a margin of nearly 4.4 million votes over Flávio Bolsonaro. The incumbent, a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, won despite losing the first round earlier this month — the first time since Brazil's military dictatorship ended in 1985 that a second-place first-round candidate has come back to win the presidency.

Bolsonaro refused to concede within hours and formally asked for the results to be annulled, capping an evening of confusion at polling places. He joins at 80-years-old — with Trump and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega — one of the oldest presidents in the Americas. Lula turns 81 and starts his fourth non-consecutive term on Jan. 5, 2027.

What does the result change for the region's business climate?

Plenty. Latin America's largest economy, with a GDP of $2.6 trillion per year, will likely keep defying Trump's demands despite the pressure of increased tariffs. Lula's win also bucks a regional trend of victories for right-of-center presidential candidates allied with Trump — a relief to critics of widening U.S. influence in Latin America.

Lula made sovereignty the emotional core of his victory speech to supporters gathered on São Paulo's main artery and in Rio de Janeiro's Cinelândia Square.

"Either the homeland remains free, or we die for Brazil," he said. "This country will not accept being anyone's backyard."

He didn't spare his opponent. "This was a defeat for denialism and lies. I must confess that every time I attended a debate, I felt embarrassed," Lula said, pledging to respect all Brazilians regardless of gender or religion.

Not everyone celebrated. Rodrigo Valentim, a 51-year-old businessman and Bolsonaro supporter, pointed to financial markets' positive reaction after Bolsonaro won the first round. "I don't understand how people can vote for Lula," he said. "The country is collapsing."

Why is Bolsonaro contesting the vote?

The dispute centers on a last-minute ruling by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin. Three minutes before polls were scheduled to close, he ordered them kept open two extra hours, granting requests from both campaigns: Lula cited bus problems ferrying voters to polls in São Paulo and Salvador, cities that favor him; Bolsonaro cited heavy rains in Brazil's south, his stronghold.

The ruling delayed the tally by two hours. Polling stations in Brasília and Rio de Janeiro closed shortly after the original 5 p.m. deadline, AP reporters observed, and it remains unclear how many stayed open later.

Bolsonaro — whose father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup after losing to Lula in 2022 — noted that Zanin is Lula's former lawyer and accused him of "changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game." He added: "It's impossible to recognize the results of the election in the context of these things that happened."

The legal odds look long. Electoral court president Kassio Nunes Marques — appointed to the Supreme Court by the elder Bolsonaro — said the voting-hours extension did not impact results.

João Pedro Padua, a law professor at Fluminense Federal University, said Bolsonaro can sue before electoral authorities or the Supreme Court to have the election declared null and void. "But there isn't much legal basis for that," Padua said. "The extension of voting hours is unusual, but for it to invalidate the elections, the candidate would have to prove that it affected voters' ability to freely express their will. There doesn't seem to have been any such impact." Bolsonaro can also request a recount with evidence of fraud, though that might not change the outcome.

How did Lula pull off the comeback?

Bolsonaro had beaten him by more than 2.2 million votes in the first round, riding voter anger over the cost of living and security. He ran a tough-on-crime campaign and pledged to cut food prices; Lula countered with costly incentives aimed at undecided voters.

Both men faced corruption suspicions involving family members and allies, with Bolsonaro implicated in a sprawling national scandal. Lula himself spent 580 days in prison on corruption convictions before the Supreme Court annulled his sentence after messages showed the convicting judge was biased.

After his first-round loss, Lula reorganized his campaign: he appealed to young voters, put millions of Brazilians on the streets to defend his legacy and democratic values, raised the specter of another Bolsonaro administration, and boosted government initiatives.

The win likely caps a career that began as a union leader in the 1970s, a co-founder of the Workers' Party who lost three presidential races before winning in 2002. Whether it also stabilizes Brazil's standoff with Washington on tariffs — and its markets, which cheered his opponent just weeks ago — is the question his fourth term opens with.