Brazil’s Lula wins reelection with victory over Trump ally Bolsonaro, who rejects result

By Alessandra Freitas

CNNOctober 26, 2026

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was reelected to a historic fourth term Sunday, but his defeated rival and Trump ally Senator Flávio Bolsonaro said he would not accept the results and would mount a legal challenge.

The 80-year-old leftist leader won more than 51 percent of votes, securing a runoff victory that bucks a broader rightward political shift across Latin America and comes after a campaign dominated by concerns over the cost of living, crime and corruption.

Bolsonaro, who trailed Lula by about 4.4 million votes, said his team would challenge the result after the Supreme Court’s last-minute ruling to extend voting by two hours.

“It is impossible to recognize the election result given how these events unfolded,” Bolsonaro told supporters in the capital Brasilia after Lula’s victory was declared.

“We will take legal action. We will ask for this election to be annulled.”

The vote marks the first time since the return of direct presidential elections in 1989 that a candidate has won the presidency after finishing second in the first round.

“I can assure you that we are going to change the way we govern this country. We are going to give the people a greater role in our decisions,” Lula said after his reelection.

Lula thanked the Brazilian people for their “generosity,” especially the country’s youth who “took to the streets to defend democracy.”