Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has secured a historic fourth presidential term in Brazil, defeating Liberal Party (PL) candidate Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff election on Sunday, October 25, 2026, amid a fiercely contested campaign marked by disputes over social media platforms, foreign interference and the mobilisation of far-right supporters.

Lula received 64 million votes, the highest total ever recorded in a Brazilian presidential election, surpassing the 60 million votes he won in 2022.

Declaring a “defeat for lies and denialism”, Lula pledged to govern for all Brazilians and defend the country’s sovereignty.

“Brazil is nobody’s backyard,” he declared at a midnight rally attended by hundreds of thousands of supporters along São Paulo’s iconic Avenida Paulista. His remarks were widely seen as a message to US President Donald Trump, who had openly backed Bolsonaro’s candidacy.

In an emotional address, Lula credited women, older voters and young people for his victory, acknowledging the role of both street-level campaigning and digital mobilisation.

“People went out to vote because we managed to convince them that their votes were extremely important to safeguarding democracy in the country,” he said.

Lula also promised a more participatory style of governance, greater public involvement in decision-making and a stronger emphasis on digital communication during his fourth term.

“The future begins today, and its name is youth. I salute the women who made all the difference. I salute the older people who made sacrifices and made their way to the polling stations to vote,” he said.

The result marked a dramatic reversal of the first-round outcome on October 4, when Lula secured 45.16% of valid votes against Bolsonaro’s 47.03%. Concerns among young voters over the future of public education, healthcare and transport under a Bolsonaro government had fuelled demonstrations and rallies in support of Lula across the country.

Addressing his younger supporters, Lula promised increased spending on public services and investment in emerging sectors.

“We will make increasing investment in in the Unified Health System, develop a national artificial intelligence system, continue to expand public universities and support the digital and creative economies,” he said, drawing loud applause from the crowd.

The campaign’s momentum shifted significantly after the first round, as Lula’s formal campaign machinery was joined by a vast network of volunteers who took to the streets and social media to persuade undecided voters. Federal deputy André Janones, who is not a member of the Workers’ Party, played a prominent role in online mobilisation through a WhatsApp channel called “Lula’s Army”. The channel had more than 10 million subscribers and circulated daily “missions” encouraging supporters to campaign for Lula.

Volunteers, many of them teenagers and young adults, went door to door to win over voters who had supported other candidates or stayed away from the polls in the first round. Abstention fell on Sunday to its lowest level since 2002, according to the figures cited in the campaign’s account of the result.

Facing opinion polls that had pointed to a close contest, the Workers’ Party also altered its messaging after the first round. Rather than focusing primarily on the candidates’ personal records, Lula’s campaign emphasised concrete economic and welfare proposals. These included higher direct cash-transfer benefits, a new debt-relief programme, support for small entrepreneurs and a pledge to make public transport free on weekends.

The campaign also confronted allegations of unequal treatment by major technology companies. Lula accused digital platforms of interfering in the election and said his government would pursue regulation of Big Tech.

“This election was one in which we had to overcome interference coming from outside and through digital platforms. We will have to regulate them,” he said.

The controversy intensified after Brazilian media reports on October 16, when Meta acknowledged that its artificial intelligence tool had blocked the creation of campaign material supporting Lula while allowing the same technology to be used by Bolsonaro’s campaign. Lula’s supporters argued that such incidents illustrated the challenges candidates face when relying on privately controlled digital platforms to reach voters.

Lula’s victory also represents a setback for Trump, who had made clear his preference for Bolsonaro. The result comes amid the growth of right-wing political movements across Latin America, where disputes over electoral legitimacy, national sovereignty and the role of social media have become increasingly prominent.

Trump, however, questioned the outcome on Sunday night, comparing it with the 2020 US presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.

“Bolsonaro had a big lead in the first round and was the clear favourite to win the second. But the communists never give up power once they get it,” Trump said, echoing claims by sections of the far right that elections lost by their preferred candidates are illegitimate.

Bolsonaro also refused to accept the result and announced that he would seek its annulment. He accused the Federal Supreme Court of “changing the rules midway” after a judge ordered voting across the country to be extended until 7 pm. The order followed Lula’s complaint that several right-wing mayors had curtailed bus services in poorer areas of many cities, potentially affecting voters’ ability to reach polling stations.

“It is impossible to recognise the election result in the context in which these things happened,” Bolsonaro said, adding that his legal team would challenge the outcome.

Lula’s supporters, meanwhile, celebrated the result as an endorsement of his promises on public services, democratic participation and national sovereignty.

As his speech concluded on Sunday night, the crowd broke into Brazil’s national independence song, turning the gathering into a public celebration of the election outcome and a response to those questioning its legitimacy.