Lula's extra time goal sends a signal

The Amazon and Earth should be relieved, as Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a.k.a. Lula, pulled back from first-round defeat to become Brazilian president for a record 4th term. Monday's result demonstrated the deep discontent among the electorate. The Lula government's failure to tame rising cost of living and crime, along with charges of corruption against the president, essayed the serious challenge from Flavio Bolsonaro, whose 'tough guy' campaign focused on tackling public security and crime. But the pendulum may have swung too far for the challenger, whom Trump had marked as his 'preferred candidate' - and, thereby, may have spooked many conservative Brazilians. Lula, on his part, reached out extra to the young - he even finally got a smartphone - and highlighted the natural resource asset-stripping a Bolsonaro administration would have supposedly heralded.

Having pulled off this close win, though, governing will be tricky. Lula has to navigate a polarised country to tackle critical challenges like soaring deficit that neared 10% of GDP in the year running up to June 2026, 82% public debt, high inflation and interest rates. Fixing Brazil's economy will be an uphill task for the Leftist Workers' Party government.

While the presidency has eluded Bolsonaro, his Liberal Party and allies have the majority in the senate and chamber of deputies. This makes it possible for Brazil's right-wing coalition to block legislation the new government may propose to mitigate economic duress. Even with the defeat of Aleksandar Vucic in the Serbian elections the same day, it would be too early to see Lula's win as a signal against authoritarian, strongmen rule worldwide. But Brazil has certainly shown that it's no longer in the realm of wishful thinking.