Brazil's 'Lula's Army' drove voters to polls after buses mysteriously stopped

Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won an unprecedented fourth term in Brazil's runoff election, powered by a massive grassroots mobilization that overcame a bus outage in Salvador. Lula secured over 10 million more votes than his rival in the second round. Supporters, shocked by right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro's first-round lead, organized free rides, social media campaigns, and cash challenges to boost turnout. In Salvador, volunteers drove stranded voters after roughly 30% of the bus fleet was found idling, with the city's transportation chief arrested and later released pending a probe. Lula's team overhauled its campaign, with the 81-year-old buying his first smartphone and expanding a WhatsApp channel called "Lula's Army" from 50,000 to over 10 million followers. Bolsonaro, who fled to the US, questioned the result and a two-hour voting extension granted due to the bus outage.