Latin American leaders celebrate Lula's victory in Brazil's presidential runoff

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won Brazil's presidential runoff against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, securing a new term as head of state in the South American country. With 99.98 percent of votes counted, Lula received 51.78 percent of preferences compared to 48.22 percent for his opponent, totaling more than 64 million votes while Bolsonaro gathered nearly 60 million.

Former Chilean President Gabriel Boric was among the first to react, expressing joy over the Brazilian people's choice and thanking Lula for his political trajectory. Boric wrote on social media that the Brazilian people had given a great joy, calling Lula a dear old man who never stopped fighting and maintained hope for a world.

“Fascism has been stopped in Latin America, in Brazil.”

Former Colombian President Gustavo Petro linked Lula's victory to the regional political scenario, stating that fascism had been stopped in Latin America and in Brazil. Petro described the result as a triumph for humanity and a strategic defeat for forces of darkness, also praising Brazil's electoral system with public software cared for by the people.

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz congratulated Lula and emphasized the intention to maintain joint work between both countries, recalling historical ties between the two brother nations. Paraguayan President Santiago Peña also sent congratulations, highlighting a shared agenda of integration and development and the goal of generating more opportunities for their peoples.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino joined the congratulations, calling the voting a democratic day and expressing the intention to maintain cooperation between the two countries. The result marked an unprecedented fact in Brazilian democratic history: for the first time since the end of the military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985, a candidate who finished second in the first round managed to prevail in the runoff.