Brazil ousts far-right prez, brings back leftist Lula

Victory Completes Stunning Political Revival For Da Silva, From Presidency To Prison And Back

Brasilia: Voters in Brazil on Sunday ousted President Jair Bolsonaro after just one term and elected the leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to replace him, election officials said, a rebuke to Bolsonaro’s far-right movement and his divisive four years in office. The victory completes a stunning political revival for da Silva — from the presidency to prison and back — that had once seemed unthinkable. It also ends Bolsonaro’s turbulent time as the region’s leader. It was the first time an incumbent president failed to win reelection in the 34 years of Brazil’s modern democracy.

For years, he attracted global attention for policies that accelerated the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and exacerbated the pandemic, which left nearly 7,00,000 dead in Brazil, while also becoming a major international figure of the far-right for his brash attacks on the left, the media and Brazil’s democratic institutions. More recently, his efforts to undermine Brazil’s election system drew particular concern at home and abroad.