After Lula's Win, Brazil Faces Bolsonaro Challenge and Hostile Congress
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won a historic fourth term in Sunday's runoff, but his rival Flávio Bolsonaro says he will contest the vote in court, and Lula faces four difficult years against a right-wing Congress, Deutsche Welle reports. For the result itself, see our earlier report Lula Wins Fourth Term as Brazil's President in Runoff.
Lula, 80, finished 3.5 percentage points ahead (51.8% to 48.2%, per the Superior Electoral Court) of Bolsonaro, who had won the first round in early October — a turnaround without precedent. In the first round Lula had about 45% against Bolsonaro's roughly 47%.
Why Bolsonaro refuses to concede
"It is impossible for me to recognise this election," Bolsonaro said on Sunday evening, announcing he would seek its annulment. His complaint is the last-minute decision by Supreme Court justice Cristiano Zanin to keep polling stations open two hours longer — until 19:00 instead of 17:00. The order reached many stations only after counting had begun, and witnesses described chaos.
DW notes that Bolsonaro did not mention that he himself had also asked for an extension on Sunday afternoon, because heavy rain in the south and southeast, where he is traditionally strong, had hampered voting. Lula justified an extension by saying mayors allied with Bolsonaro had sabotaged public transport, mainly in São Paulo and Salvador, so that many voters could not reach polling stations. Electoral court president Kassio Nunes Marques, who had left the extension requests unanswered, said late Sunday that the vote was conducted correctly despite the extension — which, experts say, weakens Bolsonaro's case for annulment.
A Congress Lula cannot easily govern with
The right strengthened its position in parliamentary elections three weeks ago: Bolsonaro's Liberal Party holds 121 of 513 seats in the lower house and 28 of 81 in the Senate. Parties of the Bolsonaro camp are just short of the majority needed for the impeachment of Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes, who sentenced Flávio's father Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years for the coup attempt. Lula would have to peel off lawmakers from the opposition, since the right-wing majority could also change the constitution, override his vetoes and even try to impeach him; DW says he risks becoming a "lame duck".
In his victory speech Lula said digital communication would have a large place in his government so that "the people take more part in our decisions". He also warned that "bandits will be put in prison" and called Bolsonaro a "representative of the militias". Lula's camp demands legal consequences for the mayors who sabotaged public transport, and a court has already ordered the arrest of Salvador's mobility secretary.
It is unclear whether millions of Bolsonaro supporters will accept the result; road blockades and unrest are feared, as after Lula's win over Jair Bolsonaro four years ago. See more in our World section.