After weeks of hate and political mudslinging, Brazil’s future president is striking a conciliatory tone. “It’s time to reunite families and restore the bonds of friendship,” said Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after his election victory. “No one is interested in living in a divided country, in a permanent state of war.”
Lula’s supporters celebrate the comeback of the icon of the left on the Avenida Paulista in the metropolis of São Paulo and paint the boulevard in the red of the Workers’ Party (PT). People hug each other, wave flags and weep with joy. The yellow and green-clad supporters of right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, on the other hand, were utterly horrified on election night.
Lula defeated Bolsonaro by a razor-thin margin in Sunday’s runoff. After counting all the votes, Lula got 50.90 percent, his opponent got 49.10 percent. According to media reports, this is the narrowest election victory in Brazil since the country’s return to democracy in the late 1980s.
Bolsonaro has gone underground
Bolsonaro dives down and initially does not comment on his defeat. According to media reports, he just went to sleep when Lula celebrated his victory that night. Similar to US President Donald Trump, he had repeatedly cast doubts on the electoral system before the vote and indicated that he might not recognize the result.
The feared outbreak of violence by frustrated Bolsonaro fans does not materialize for the time being. In different parts of the country, truck drivers set fire to car tires and blocked country roads in support of Bolsonaro. They are cheered on by MP and Bolsonaro ally Carla Zambelli, of all people, who chased a man through the streets with a drawn pistol after a dispute in São Paulo on Saturday.
It will now depend on whether Bolsonaro pours fuel on the fire or keeps his supporters in check. Since the relaxation of the gun laws, many supporters of the ex-military have been properly armed, after the hard-ball election campaign, many have had their nerves on edge. Now it’s up to Lula to fill in the ditches and reconcile the people.
Lula: “There are no two Brazils”
“I am here to govern this country in a very difficult situation. But I am confident that with the help of the people we will find a way out so that this country can live democratically and harmoniously again,” said Lula in his victory speech. “There are no two Brazils, only one people. It’s time to lay down your arms.”
Many of his followers still associate Lula with Brazil’s golden age. During his tenure from 2003 to 2010, the “President of the Poor” modernized Latin America’s largest economy and improved the living conditions of millions of poor Brazilians with the “Fome Zero” (zero hunger) program and family welfare.
“Lula put nostalgia on the map, above all,” says political scientist Mauricio Santoro of the University of Rio de Janeiro State. “And the promise to reconnect with his achievements.” For a long time, the charismatic politician was seen as a shining light on the Latin American left. The then US President Barack Obama once praised him as “the most popular politician in the world”. However, nepotism also flourished during his reign. Lula herself was in prison for more than a year on corruption and money laundering charges – the sentence was later overturned on formal grounds.
High expectations of Lula
Now the 77-year-old is making a comeback and will begin his third term of office early next year as Brazil’s first democratically elected president. The expectations of the head of state are enormous. Bolsonaro has isolated the country with his refusal to protect the environment, his idiosyncratic corona policy and his vulgar failures on the world stage. The experienced diplomat Lula could now rehabilitate Brazil on the international stage. “Brazil is back. The country is too big to be downgraded to the pariah of the world,” says Lula.
As a huge carbon reservoir, the Amazon region plays an important role in the fight against global climate change. Given the tense situation on the energy and food markets due to the Ukraine war, Brazil with its enormous natural resources is also an important trading partner.
Four years of Bolsonaro have left their mark on Latin America’s largest economy. The ex-military had succeeded in bundling the country’s various right-wing tendencies. According to experts, the “Bolsonaristas” are here to stay. Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL) will in future be the strongest faction in Congress. Even if Bolsonaro is voted out, his infantry could still make life difficult for Lula.
