A prominent critic of U.S. President Donald Trump has won Brazil’s presidential election in a humiliating result for MAGA.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva achieved a stunning political comeback on Sunday, defeating Donald Trump ally Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, to win re-election and halt Latin America’s move towards the right.
Lula, 81, a veteran left-winger, had trailed by more than 2 million votes in the first round of voting three weeks ago. But on Sunday he received 51.8 percent of the vote, beating his far-right rival Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, 71, by nearly 4.4 million votes, according to the Associated Press, citing Brazil’s electoral court.
Lula defeated Jair Bolsonaro to take the presidency in 2022. Both father and son are key supporters of Trump.
On Sunday, Flávio Bolsonaro refused to concede defeat and requested that election results be annulled, following a last-minute decision to extend voting by two hours.
“It is impossible to recognize the election results,” he told reporters in Brazil, according to The Washington Post. “We’re not here to play games.”
However, the head of Brazil’s electoral court said the decision by a Supreme Court justice to extend voting had no impact on the outcome.
Key issues in the election were the cost of living and also Brazil’s relationship with the United States.
In one election campaign ad, Lula accused Trump of wanting to “colonize” Brazil in order to exploit its natural resources, and warned the U.S. president was attempting to sway the election in favor of his conservative rival in order to advance America’s interests in Brazil, the Guardian notes.
In his victory speech, Lula referenced Trump’s military action in Venezuela and the Caribbean as well his relationship with conservative leaders in Latin America. “People went to vote because we convinced them it was important to preserve democracy,” he said. “This country doesn’t accept being anybody’s colony.”
Talking to supporters who had gathered on São Paulo’s main artery and in Rio de Janeiro’s Cinelândia Square, Lula also took aim at his political rival Bolsonaro.
“This was a defeat for denialism and lies. I must confess that every time I attended a debate, I felt embarrassed,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
His victory sees him join Trump and Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega, who are both 80, as one of the oldest presidents in the Americas.
Brazil is Latin America’s largest economy, with a GDP of $2.6 trillion per year.
Trump did not endorse Flávio Bolsonaro in this election, but endorsed Jair Bolsonaro in October 2022, at the time calling da Silva “a Radical Left Lunatic who will quickly destroy your Country.” Under Trump’s presidency, however, America imposed tariffs on Brazilian products, questioned the integrity of Brazil’s elections and applied pressure to get Jair Bolsonaro released from custody after his arrest over an attempted coup, according to The Washington Post.
Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in jail in November 2025 for plotting a military coup after his 2022 election loss, but has been allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest. His son campaigned on a promise to free his father.
Ahead of Bolsonaro’s sentence, Trump posted in July 2025, “This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent — Something I know much about! It happened to me, times 10.”
The American president hosted Flávio Bolsonaro in the White House in June, posting a photo on Truth Social and calling him a “smart young man who loves his Country, Brazil, very much!”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
