Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated on the evening of 25 October after coming from behind to win re-election as Brazil’s president. Credit: Maira Erlich/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won his bid for re-election on 25 October, to the relief of many scientists who feared for the future of Brazilian research if right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro prevailed.

In recent weeks, some of Brazil’s leading scientific organizations, including the Brazilian Academy of Sciences in Rio de Janeiro, circulated an open letter endorsing Lula, a leftist former labour leader. It received more than 20,000 signatures.…