On October 2, 2022, Brazil had its presidential election and on October 30, 2022, the results came in. The election was between candidates Luis Inacio Lula Da Silva and the current president Jair Bolsanaro. President Bolsonaro has been the president of Brazil since 2018 and this was his second time running for office. Lula was the 35th president of Brazil, serving from 2003 to 2010. In 2018 Lula was imprisoned for corruption so he couldn’t run in 2018, but in 2022 he returned to run again. With 60 million votes, Lula won the election by two million votes. This is the first time a sitting president has been beaten in an election since 1985. The results were met with celebrations but also tension as Bolsonaro and his supporters refused to accept the results.

Lula is a left-wing Brazilian congressman and a former president of Brazil who has helped further workers’ rights. Between 1978 and 1980, as a metalworker, he organized major worker’s strikes which helped form the Worker’s Party in Brazil. Before his presidency, he also led the movement to demand more democratic elections. During his presidency, he made reforms to get Brazilian people out of poverty, including raising trade, expanding welfare, and raising the minimum wage. His plans for the future now that he had been elected are reducing deforestation of the Amazon to zero and strengthening foreign relations.

International leaders and entertainment figures have been congratulating Lula on his win but there have been mixed reactions from the people of Brazil. After Lula’s win, Lula’s supporters flooded the streets in celebration, calling his return to office a return to democracy. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro supporters are protesting the win, claiming that the election was rigged against Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro supporters have even gone as far as protesting at military bases, asking the army to step in and stop the transition of power.

One of the reasons Bolsonaro supporters are protesting is that Bolsonaro has been claiming that the election was rigged from the start. During his campaign, Bolsonaro has said that the only way he can lose this election is if it’s rigged. When the results came out, there was tension as people wondered if Bolsonaro would allow for a peaceful transition in power. When the results came out Bolsonaro stayed silent until last week when he stated that he will allow a peaceful transition of power. He also called for his supporters to back down and stop protesting. Note that even though Bolsonaro has accepted a transition of power, he still has not made an official statement accepting the loss.