Brazil election 2026: In a stunning upset, Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was re-elected for a historic fourth term on Sunday (October 25), securing 51.79% of the vote against his rival Flávio Bolsonaro, who won 48.21%.

In the first round earlier this month, he had finished behind the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, whom Lula defeated in 2022. Flávio won the first round with 47.03% of the vote against Lula’s 45.16%, and has thus far refused to concede and called for the election results to be annulled.

The result was historic for another reason: since Brazil returned to direct presidential elections in 1989, no candidate who finished second in the first round had gone on to win the runoff.

Lula’s victory also bucks a regional trend that saw right-wing candidates win seven consecutive presidential elections across Latin America, dealing a setback to US President Donald Trump ’s ambitions to expand Washington’s influence in the region.

“Brazil is no one’s backyard.…