Lula defeats Flavio Bolsonaro, re-elected Brazil's president

Left-wing candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was re-elected president of Brazil for four years on Sunday, October 25, narrowly defeating far-right opponent Flavio Bolsonaro. Lula won 51.76% of the vote against 48.24% for Bolsonaro, according to the electoral court. The result keeps Brazil as one of the few progressive strongholds in Latin America, bucking a regional rightward shift. Lula, nearly 81, campaigned as a defender of democracy against US commercial and diplomatic pressure, after trailing Bolsonaro in the first round. The vote was extended by two hours after Lula's campaign alleged buses were removed from circulation in cities like Sao Paulo. Some 160 million voters were eligible to decide the country's political direction.