Progressives celebrate Lula’s win, while the right spits out its dummy (again)

On Monday October 26, the left woke up to the good news that Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, had defeated far-right challenger Flávio Bolsonaro by 4.4 million votes in a bitterly contested election, securing another term in office.

Lula’s victory follows a hard-fought campaign against Bolsonaro, who leads the right-wing populist movement built by his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro. The former president is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing Brazil’s 2022 election.

The result prompted congratulations from progressive politicians around the world, who see Lula’s win as vital, not only for Brazil but also for the wider struggle over the future of progressive politics.

“Congratulations to President Lula on a stunning, historic re-election. A political comeback that will be remembered for generations to come. This is a victory for the people, for the planet and for peace,” former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote on X.

Labour MP Richard Burgon also celebrated the result, describing it as “a brilliant victory for Lula” and a victory for social progress, environmental protection and everyone who believes in a better world.

He added the result shows that “Trump and the far-right can be stopped in their tracks.”

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez declared a: “Great victory for Lula! What has happened in Brazil, will happen in Spain. The comeback of global progressivism has just begun.”

Sánchez’s socialist PSOE party congratulated Lula, writing that Brazil had chosen to continue moving forward and suggesting that Spain would follow a similar path on November 29.

Canadian prime minister Mark Carney highlighted the opportunity to deepen relations between Canada and Brazil, pointing to potential gains in trade, environmental protection and shared prosperity.

“Let us seize this opportunity to strengthen them further, together – to create new promising commercial prospects, protect the environment, and ensure greater prosperity for both our populations,” he wrote on X.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president António Costa were also among those congratulating Lula, whose government has worked closely with Brussels to advance the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.

The deal, which was signed in January with the South American trading bloc comprising of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, has been viewed as an important step towards diversifying trade relations amid tensions over US president Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The EU had also been concerned that a victory for Bolsonaro could threaten the agreement. The Brazilian politician had criticised Mercosur’s constraints and called for Brazil to pursue independent trade agreements, including with the United States.

“Democracy and multilateralism have won in Brazil,” von der Leyen said.

US senator Bernie Sanders also congratulated Lula on his “extraordinary re-election victory,” praising the Brazilian president for standing up for workers and democracy and expressing confidence that he would continue doing so over the next four years.

While Lula’s victory prompted celebrations among progressives, the response from his opponents was hostile.

Flávio Bolsonaro refused to concede defeat and said he would seek to have the result annulled, describing it as “inexplicable.” His response echoed the refusal by Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro to accept their respective election defeats.

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, also criticised the Brazilian vote, focusing on a two-hour extension to voting time.

“If a conservative government in Brazil did this, everyone in the mainstream press in America would lose their minds, but I guess they’re just choosing to be silent because it’s all for the cause,” he said.

Lula’s victory resonates far beyond Brazil, giving progressives around the world cause to celebrate while once again exposing the right’s troubling tendency to question election results when the voters’ verdict goes against them.