Brazil has given Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a fourth, non-consecutive term, a feat without precedent in its democratic history. Lula came back from a first-round defeat to win 51.8 per cent of the run-off vote against Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the jailed former president.
Yet the victory leaves Lula little room to manoeuvre. Opposition parties may yet control both chambers of Congress. Nearly half of Brazilians say the economy has worsened over the past year. Last year Washington threatened tariffs and sanctions over the prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, and it will not easily forget being rebuffed by a leader who calls Brazil “no one’s backyard”. Lula, now 81, faces a fractious term at home and abroad.
Beijing’s response was suitably measured. President Xi Jinping called bilateral ties “an example of solidarity and cooperation among Global South countries”. Asked about Flavio Bolsonaro’s refusal to concede, however, the foreign ministry said only that China “respects the choice of the Brazilian people”.
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