A few months after doing time in a Brazilian prison, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decided to contest for the 2022 Brazil election and he is currently the President-elect of the great South American country.
After being jailed on corruption charges, the left-wing Lula da Silva championed a tight victory over President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential runoff election.
The streets of Sao Paolo, where Lula voted were crowded with many of his supporters chanting and singing his praises.
Victor Castelo, 33, who worked in advertising was one of the many supporters on the streets for Lula. He said:
“I’m really happy. The next four years will be more hopeful for us, ” Castelo said while describing Bolsonaro as an authoritarian.
With nearly all the ballots counted, official returns gave da Silva, who is a former two-term president, 50.8% of the vote compared to 49.2% for Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro, 67, a populist in the mold of former U.S. President Donald Trump, served as an army captain during Brazil’s military dictatorship that lasted from 1964-1985.
He also did not fail to fill his office with various former military officers that also served in his time, along with new ones.
Da Silva and Bolsonaro were the two top finishers in a first round of presidential voting on Oct. 2 that featured 11 candidates.
With the two top finishers in the front row, nobody could outstand the other as there were Bolsonaro’s fanatics, as much as there were Lula supporters.
Although the balloting was largely peaceful, there were several violent incidents during the campaign with authorities reporting the killings of at least four da Silva supporters at the hands of pro-Bolsonaro fanatics.
After three failed runs for the presidency, da Silva was elected to the post in 2002 and then reelected in 2006. As president, he oversaw an economic boom that helped lift millions out of poverty, making him an icon of the Latin American left.
