An ex-con is re-elected president while the loser fumes about fraud
03 November 2022 - 05:00
by PAUL ASH
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrates with supporters in São Paulo, Brazil, on October 30. Picture: BLOOMBERG/TUANE FERNANDES
If it seems improbable that a former president who did nearly two years in jail — 580 days, to be precise — after being convicted of corruption, having also been implicated in at least two other corruption scandals, could be re-elected to the top office in the land: may I present Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
On Sunday, Lula won a runoff election against Jair Bolsonaro in what sports commentators would call a “stunning upset”, snatching the Brazilian presidency from the incumbent.
Lula beat Bolsonaro by roughly 2-million votes, which might sound like a lot until you realise it is only about 2% of the vote.
Still, 2% is all you need and Bolsonaro’s supporters are understandably extremely upset, with one supporter quoted in The Guardian saying that Lula’s win was the result of voter fraud and that the military should intervene and drive the “communists” from the streets.
Ignoring, for a moment, the wailing from Brazil’s jilted, Jair today, gone tomorrow, hardscrabble Right, the task lying in wait for Lula makes UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s troubles look no more tempestuous than a kid’s dropped ice cream.
He must unite a country whose two sides actively loathe each other, take on big business in an attempt to save the Amazon rainforest and get Brazil’s Covid-ravaged economy back on track.
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro, who previously warned that he might not accept the result of the election if it went against him, still commands huge support, a bit like his golfing hero up north.
If the endless Trumpian hangover is anything to go by, the drama is only just getting going.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Lula’s comeback in Brazil
An ex-con is re-elected president while the loser fumes about fraud
If it seems improbable that a former president who did nearly two years in jail — 580 days, to be precise — after being convicted of corruption, having also been implicated in at least two other corruption scandals, could be re-elected to the top office in the land: may I present Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
On Sunday, Lula won a runoff election against Jair Bolsonaro in what sports commentators would call a “stunning upset”, snatching the Brazilian presidency from the incumbent.
Lula beat Bolsonaro by roughly 2-million votes, which might sound like a lot until you realise it is only about 2% of the vote.
Still, 2% is all you need and Bolsonaro’s supporters are understandably extremely upset, with one supporter quoted in The Guardian saying that Lula’s win was the result of voter fraud and that the military should intervene and drive the “communists” from the streets.
Ignoring, for a moment, the wailing from Brazil’s jilted, Jair today, gone tomorrow, hardscrabble Right, the task lying in wait for Lula makes UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s troubles look no more tempestuous than a kid’s dropped ice cream.
He must unite a country whose two sides actively loathe each other, take on big business in an attempt to save the Amazon rainforest and get Brazil’s Covid-ravaged economy back on track.
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro, who previously warned that he might not accept the result of the election if it went against him, still commands huge support, a bit like his golfing hero up north.
If the endless Trumpian hangover is anything to go by, the drama is only just getting going.
EMILE MYBURGH: Lula is back — but has his work cut out for him
New UK PM has little to say but much to do
Britain’s PM in her salad days
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.