Status: 31.10.2022 00:28
Left-leaning challenger Lula has been elected President of Brazil by a narrow margin. The electoral authorities declared him the winner with 50.83 percent of the votes. The right-wing incumbent Bolsonaro got 49.17 percent.
In the runoff election for the highest office in Brazil, left-wing ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. According to the election commission, Lula received 50.83 percent and Bolsonaro 49.17 percent of the vote.
Lula is returning to the position he held from 2003 to 2010. At that time, thanks to an economic boom caused by high raw material prices, he launched huge social programs, millions of people managed to climb into the middle class. But Lula’s name was also closely linked to far-reaching corruption scandals that brought down politicians and entrepreneurs.
Dirty campaign
During the election campaign, Lula promised a return to economic success. In his four years in office, Bolsonaro has presented himself as an arch-conservative defender of traditional Christian values. During the election campaign he claimed without evidence that under Lula there was a threat of communism, persecution of the church, the liberalization of drugs and abortions.
He also referred to a corruption and money laundering conviction that landed Lula in jail and prevented his candidacy four years ago. The verdict has since been overturned, which didn’t stop Bolsonaro from labeling Lula a thief who could return to the scene of the crime if he won the election.
Lula criticized Bolsonaro’s corona and environmental policies and accused him of not looking after those most in need in the country. Instead of funding social spending, Bolsonaro has spent billions on lawmakers’ pet projects to gain their political support.
The atmosphere was very tense in view of the great differences, and the population was very divided. The already fierce election campaign had become increasingly dirty in the final sprint. Brazilians have been inundated with a flood of misinformation, especially on social media and Whatsapp groups. The television debates, in which Lula and Bolsonaro made accusations against each other, seemed downright civilized.