Photo courtesy of Reuters
Change is coming to South America's most populous and powerful nation -- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the leftist Worker’s Party has defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro to become the country’s next president.
With 98.8% of the votes tallied in the runoff vote, da Silva had 50.8% and Bolsonaro 49.2%, and Brazil's election authority says da Silva’s victory is a mathematical certainty.
Da Silva (often referred to as 'Lula'), was the country’s president from 2003-2010 — and has promised to restore Brazil to its more prosperous past, yet faces headwinds in a polarized society.
This marks a stunning return to power for da Silva. He went to prison in 2018 over a corruption scandal that sidelined him from that year’s election, paving the way for then-candidate Bolsonaro’s win and four years of far-right politics.
Bolsonaro, who has often been called the "Donald Trump of Latin America," has yet to concede defeat.
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