On Monday, Jair Bolsonaro fell to Lula in the presidential runoff, becoming the first leader to be ousted from office since the 1990s. Before him, the electorate re-elected presidents who sought a second term.
A second four-year term had been won by Dilma Rousseff in 2014, Lula himself in 2006, and Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 1998. Lula won with 51 percent of the vote over Jair Bolsonaro’s 49 percent, according to election officials.
The “Trump of the Tropics” and hardline far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro swept to power four years ago and enjoyed tremendous popularity, but the scathing leader faced criticism for his poor management of the Covid outbreak, which claimed more than 680,000 lives in Brazil.
During his two tenures as president of Brazil, from 2003 to 2006 and subsequently from 2007 to 2011, the nation had a tremendous commodities boom that helped finance extensive social welfare programs that are credited with lifting millions of people out of poverty.
Why is Lula’s Presidency a big win for the people all over Brazil?
The election cycle should come to an end as a result of the result. Instead, it causes anxiety in this 200 million-person nation as people wait to see how Bolsonaro would react. A former army captain who was recently elected president has spent the last few years emphasizing that he would not accept defeat in these elections.
In a widely noted echo of the former U.S. President’s remarks, his campaign and supporters have frequently claimed for him—without providing any evidence—that Brazil’s electronic voting system is susceptible to fraud. Trump’s comments in the months leading up to the 2020 election. Long-standing fears that Bolsonaro’s supporters would attempt their own version of the Capitol insurgency have been strengthened by the razor-thin margin of victory for Lula.
Who is Lula and how did people choose him over former President Bolsonaro?
He is a compelling leader with a well-known backstory: he was unable to read or write until he was 10 years old, and after the fifth grade, he had to give up school because he had to start working full-time. In 1975, he started working as a metalworker and was chosen as the union’s leader. He organized significant labor protests against the military government in Brazil, and in 1980, he helped create the Workers’ Party (PT), which would later emerge as the primary leftist political force in the nation.
Which World Leaders took up Twitter to congratulate the new President?
Leaders from all over the world have expressed their congratulations since the announcement, including US President Joe Biden, who emphasized that the outcome came “after free, fair, and credible elections.” He continued by saying he was eager to continue working with them.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, also expressed his “sincere congratulations,” noting that the outcomes had demonstrated Lula’s “great political authority.”
On the other hand, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Twitter: “I look forward to working together on the issues that matter to the UK and Brazil, from growing the global economy to protecting the planet’s natural resources and promoting democratic values,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his enthusiasm for better economic relations.
Has Bolsonaro commented?
With the loss, Bolsonaro becomes the first president in Brazilian history to lose his job while in office. On January 1, 2023, Lula will assume power.
Bolsonaro remained silent, but important friends did accept the outcome, indicating that after four turbulent years in administration, the populist’s power was quickly waning.
One of Bolsonaro’s loudest supporters and well-known televangelist Silas Malafaia said on Twitter: “The sovereign will of the people has established itself.”