Brazil election live: Lula triumphs over far-right incumbent Bolsonaro in stunning comeback | Brazil

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Lula stages astonishing comeback to beat far-right Bolsonaro in Brazil electionTom Phillips

Brazil’s former leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has sealed an astonishing political comeback, beating the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in one of the most significant and bruising elections in the country’s history.

With 99% of votes counted, Silva, a former factory worker who became Brazil’s first working-class president exactly 20 years ago, had secured 50.8% of the vote. Bolsonaro, a firebrand who was elected in 2018, received 49.1%.

A few streets away on Paulista Avenue, one of the city’s main arteries, ecstatic Lula supporters gathered to his victory and the radical downfall of the rightwing president whose presidency of an environmental tragedy and nearly 700,000 Brazilians die of Covid.

“Our dream is coming true. We need to be free,” beamed Joe Kallif, a 62-year-old social activist who was among the elated throng. “Brazil was in a very dangerous place and now we are getting back our freedom. The last four years have been horrible.”

Gabrielly Soares, a 19-year-old student, jumped in joy as she commemorated the imminent victory of a leader whose social policies helped her achieve a university education.

“I feel so happy … During four years of Bolsonaro I saw my family slip backwards and under Lula they flourished,” she said, a rainbow banner draped over her shoulders.

Ecstatic and tearful supporters of Lula – who secured more than 59m votes to Bolsonaro’s 57m – hugged and threw cans of beer into the air.

“This means we are going to have someone in power who cares about those at the bottom. Right now we have a person who doesn’t care about the majority, about us, about LGBT people,” Soares said. “Bolsonaro… is a bad person. He doesn’t show a drop of empathy or solidarity for others. There is no way he can continue as president.”

There was celebration around the region too as leftist allies tweeted their congratulations. “Viva Lula,” said Colombia’s leader, Gustavo Petro.

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Lula: ‘We are one country, one people – a great nation’ Tom Phillips

Addressing at a hotel in São Paulo, Lula vowed to reunify his country after a toxic race for power which has profoundly divided one of the world’s largest democracies.

“We are going to live in new times of peace, love and hope,” said the 77-year-old, who was sidelined from the 2018 election that saw Bolsonaro claim power after being jailed on corruption charges that were later annulled.

“I will govern for 215m Brazilians… and not just for those who voted for me. There are not two Brazils. We are one country, one people – a great nation,” he said to applause.

“It is in nobody’s interests to live in a country that is divided and in a constant state of war.”

Workers party Luiz Inácio Lu Da Silva speaks after being elected president of Brazil on October 30, 2022. Photograph: Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images

Updated at 00.29 GMT

Uruguayan political scientist Andrés Malamud has crunched some numbers, and suggests that the recent wave of left-wing victories in South America is thanks more to voter dissatisfaction with their current leaders than to ideology.

He points out that, “the left won 6 of the last 11 presidential elections in South America. The opposition, 10 of 11″.

“More than ideology, it’s because voters are fed up,” he writes:

La izquierda ganó 6 de las últimas 11 elecciones presidenciales en Sudamérica.La oposición, 10 de 11.Más que la ideología, manda el hartazgo. pic.twitter.com/ES8o5AUAn1

— Andrés Malamud (@andresmalamud) October 30, 2022

Updated at 00.30 GMT

Are you in Brazil? Are you a Brazilian celebrating the results far from home? Send a pic on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Lula: Brazil is back

Speaking in São Paulo, Brazil’s president-elect has a message for the world: “Brazil is back!”.

My colleague Tom Phillips, the Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, is in the room:

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has congratulated Brazil’s new president, saying, “The people of Brazil have spoken,” and that he looks forward to working with Lula “to strengthen the partnership between our countries, to deliver results for Canadians and Brazilians, and to advance shared priorities – like protecting the environment.”

The people of Brazil have spoken. I’m looking forward to working with @LulaOficial to strengthen the partnership between our countries, to deliver results for Canadians and Brazilians, and to advance shared priorities – like protecting the environment. Congratulations, Lula!

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 30, 2022 Lula promises ‘relentless fight against racism, prejudice and discrimination’

In his victory speech in São Paulo, Brazil’s president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has promised “a relative fight against racism, prejudice and discrimination so that whites and blacks and indigenous people have the same rights and the same opportunities.”

This was the country’s closest election in over three decades. Just over 2 million votes separated the two candidates with 99.5% of the vote counted. The previous closest race, in 2014, was decided by a margin of 3.46 million votes.

Lula: This is a victory for a democratic movement

“This is a victory for a democratic movement, above the interests of parties and ideologies,” Lula says in his speech after making an astonishing comeback to win Brazil’s presidential elections in a run-off:

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks to supporters after his runoff victory on Sunday, 30 October 2022. Photograph: André Penner/APLula: ‘They tried to bury me alive but I’m here’

Lula has opened on a somewhat dark note, saying, “They tried to bury me alive but I’m here”:

Lula has arrived at the podium to make his victory speech, but stopped to take a call:

Updated at 23.53 GMT

In case you’re just joining us, Brazil’s former leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has sealed an astonishing political comeback, beating the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in one of the most significant and bruising elections in the country’s history.

With 99% of votes counted, Silva, a former factory worker who became Brazil’s first working-class president exactly 20 years ago, had secured 50.8% of the vote. Bolsonaro, a firebrand who was elected in 2018, received 49.1%.

We’re expecting to hear from Lula soon – the Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, is in the room and will bring it to us live.

The congratulations from world leaders are coming in fast.

Argentina’s president Alberto Fernández celebrated “a new era in Latin American history”. “An era of hope and of a future that starts right now.”

Spain’s prime minter Pedro Sánchez called Lula’s triumph a move towards “progress and hope”.

The speed of the international reaction reflects widespread fears that Bolsonaro, a former army captain who had spent years attacking Brazil’s democratic institutions, might refuse to accept defeat. In the lead up to the election he indicated he would contest a result he considered “abnormal”.

Updated at 23.54 GMT

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