Lula Wins Historic Fourth Term as Brazil's President

Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has won an unprecedented fourth term as president, becoming the first candidate to win a runoff after losing the first round. The victory secures Latin America's largest country as a leftist stronghold. Lula, nearly 81, defeated Flavio Bolsonaro after an energetic runoff campaign that included increased social media use. His win follows a career from poverty and metalworking to the presidency, imprisonment, and a comeback in 2022. In his third term, Lula restored social programs and curbed Amazon deforestation, but faces criticism over public debt and polarization. He has not cultivated a successor and campaigned on stopping the far right.