In short
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated far-right challenger Flavío Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential runoff on Sunday, having lost the first round.
- Lula added about 10 million votes in the three weeks between the first round and the runoff, and no first-round loser had previously come back to win a Brazilian runoff.
- Amazon deforestation rose 59.5% during Jair Bolsonaro’s 2019-2022 term and fell 71.2% under the Lula administration.
- Forest loss in Brazil over the past year was 3,335 sq km, the lowest level since satellite measurements began in 1988.
- A “Lula’s Army” WhatsApp group launched by federal deputy André Janones during the runoff reached 10 million members, about 8% of the electorate.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil’s presidential runoff on Sunday, defeating far-right challenger Flavío Bolsonaro after losing the first round. No first-round loser had previously come back to win a Brazilian runoff, and Lula added about 10 million votes in the three weeks between the two rounds.
Where did Lula’s extra votes come from?
Lula had been written off by markets and some polls after the first round, which he lost. The comeback that overturned that first-round defeat drew on large rallies in cities, and in the Amazon indigenous, riverine and quilombola groups travelled for hours, sometimes days, by boat or bus to reach polling stations.
How much has Amazon deforestation fallen?
Amazon deforestation rose 59.5% during the 2019-2022 term of Jair Bolsonaro, the highest level of any four-year presidency in Brazil, and fell 71.2% under the Lula administration. Forest loss over the past year was 3,335 sq km, the lowest since satellite measurements began in 1988. Weeks before the runoff, the Lula administration announced a record fall in destruction in the Amazon and the Cerrado, and it is targeting zero deforestation by 2030.
What obstacles does Lula face in the Amazon?
Far-right members of Bolsonaro’s party won the governorships of seven of the nine Amazon states, as well as a large number of municipal mayoral posts. Brazil’s congress is dominated by agribusiness and mining interests that have set the political agenda in recent years, and they will push to allow more extractive industry on indigenous lands, expand road-building, privatise rivers and weaken environmental protections, and possibly to attempt to impeach the president.
Flávio Bolsonaro, the challenger Lula defeated in the runoff, has been barred from travel by a Brazilian judge, who also cancelled his passports.
What does Washington want from Brazil?
Lula is alone among the leaders of the main South American nations in not aligning with Donald Trump’s so-called Shield of the Americas. He will face pressure from Washington to channel critical minerals and other natural resources to the United States rather than sell to China or Europe, or leave them in the ground.
How did WhatsApp shape the runoff?
During the runoff, federal deputy André Janones launched a “Lula’s Army” WhatsApp group that used memes, live streams and algorithmic outreach, and by voting day it had 10 million “soldiers”, about 8% of the electorate. Volunteers spent hours posting stories and spreading messages, and were instructed not to share or respond to opposition posts. Lula allies have credited a 10.8-million-follower WhatsApp channel for the comeback.
What did Lula’s campaign say about Meta?
Lula’s campaign accused Meta, which runs Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, of political favouritism towards Bolsonaro in its algorithms and AI tools. Meta denied bias but acknowledged technical failures, and Brazil’s electoral court ordered corrective action.
“We had to overcome foreign interference through digital platforms, which we will have to regulate,” Lula said. “We cannot have a monstrously large corporation earning millions and billions paying no taxes to this country and trying to steer our election results.”
Frequently asked questions
Who won Brazil’s presidential runoff?
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated far-right challenger Flavío Bolsonaro in Sunday’s runoff, after having lost the first round.
By how much has Amazon deforestation fallen?
Deforestation in the Amazon fell 71.2% under the Lula administration, after rising 59.5% during Jair Bolsonaro’s 2019-2022 term. Forest loss over the past year was 3,335 sq km, the lowest since satellite measurements began in 1988.
What is Brazil’s deforestation target?
The Lula administration is targeting zero deforestation by 2030, after announcing a record fall in destruction in the Amazon and the Cerrado weeks before the runoff.
Who is André Janones?
André Janones is a federal deputy who launched the “Lula’s Army” WhatsApp group during the runoff, which reached 10 million members, about 8% of the electorate.
With reporting from The Guardian.
Stock image, not from the events described. City Skyline — Joe deSousa / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
