Brazil election: Lula beats out far-right Bolsonaro
Brazil has elected Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – the left-wing former president, who was imprisoned in 2018 but had his conviction thrown out.
He beat out far-right Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential election, a divisive campaign which saw the two rivals go head to head- with Lila winning 50.9% of the votes.
The men couldn’t have been any more different, both represented the opposite sides of the political spectrum.
Lula’s supporters were confident of the win, despite it being an extremely slim margin. The political divisions highlighted in this election are unlikely to disappear and Lula is facing an uphill battle in uniting the country.
Brazil presidential elections – Who is Lula?
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not able to run in the last presidential election in 2018 because he was in jail. He had been found guilty of receiving a bribe from a Brazilian construction firm in return for contracts with Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras.
He spent 580 days in jail before his conviction was annulled and he returned to politics.
“They tried to bury me alive and here I am,” he said, kicking off his victory speech.
He is 77 years old and left-wing. A former metal worker who was president from 2003 – 2010. He was imprisoned in 2018 for 580 days.