The world reacts to the victory of ‘Lula’ da Silva in the face of Bolsonaro’s silence

This Sunday, October 30, was a memorable day for the followers of ‘Lula’. After a vote count with very narrow percentages, the final result was pronounced by the head of the Superior Electoral Court, Alexandre de Moraes, who considered ‘Lula’ “elected president.” ‘Lula’ prevailed over Bolsonaro, with 50.9% of the vote and around two million additional votes.

Leaders from the American continent and the rest of the world congratulated ‘Lula’, hoping to be able to work with him in the future and focusing on the fight against the climate crisis, an issue abandoned by the current president.

On the American continent, congratulations multiplied from regional leaders, both in the north, by Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau and Andrés López Manuel Obrador, and in the rest of the continent, with multiple tweets and messages, such as those of Kristina Kirchner and Alberto Fernández from Argentina, Pedro Castillo from Peru, Gabriel Boric in Chile, Luis Arce from Bolivia or Xiomara Castro from Honduras.

The president of the United States reacted shortly after the official announcement of the results. He congratulated ‘Lula’ for the result and insisted on what he described as “free, fair and credible” elections. Bolsonaro several times hinted that he could question the results in case of defeat, just as Donald Trump did after the 2020 presidential elections in the United States. In fact, the current president has not yet publicly acknowledged his defeat.

“I send my congratulations to Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva for his election as the next president of Brazil after free, fair and credible elections. I look forward to working together to continue the cooperation between our two countries in the months and years to come,” he wrote on Twitter.

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, also reacted to the election, stressing that he wanted to “advance shared priorities, such as environmental protection” with ‘Lula’.

Congratulations from Europe and willingness to work together

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, congratulated ‘Lula’ and said that he hoped that both governments could work together in the future.

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, extended his congratulations and also referred to a common future work.

“Congratulations, dear ‘Lula’ for your election that begins a new chapter in the history of Brazil. Together we will join forces to face the many common challenges and renew the bond of friendship between our two countries,” Macron wrote in Twitter.

On the Portuguese side, a similar message was shared by the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa.

“I have already had the opportunity to warmly congratulate ‘Lula’ on his election as president of the Republic of Brazil. I hope that we will work together in the coming years, for the benefit of #Portugal and #Brazil, but also around the great causes global,” the Portuguese tweeted.

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, also hailed the victory of the PT leader: “I hope we work together and promote EU-Brazil relations with your government and with the new regional and congress authorities.”

Multiple reactions from Latin America

The first to greet ‘Lula’s’ victory was Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who wrote on Twitter “Long live ‘Lula’”. Petro has already said on several occasions that he intends to lead a progressive movement in the region together with ‘Lula’ and the Chilean Boric.

The vice president of the Andean country, Francia Márquez, also reacted to the victory of ‘Lula’, to whom she sent an “ancestral hug”. “Let’s go together to restore dignity and peace to our America. Congratulations to the Brazilian people,” Márquez also tweeted.

From Argentina, the president, Alberto Fernández, affirmed that “a time of hope and future” is beginning in Latin America.

The former president and current vice president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, also warmly congratulated the winner of the election.

“Today more than ever, love and much happiness. Thank you people of Brazil. Thank you, comrade Lula, for returning joy and hope to our South America,” Cristina Fernández wrote.

“‘Lula’ won, blessed people of Brazil. There will be equality and humanism,” published the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, with a photo in which both leaders appear in the National Palace of Mexico in front of a painting by Benito Juárez .

The Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, affirmed that he hopes to “strengthen the bonds of friendship” and advance in a bilateral cooperation agenda when ‘Lula’ takes office.

“We celebrate the victory of the Brazilian people, who this October 30 elected Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva as their new president. Long live the peoples determined to be free, sovereign and independent! Today, in Brazil, democracy triumphed. Congratulations, Lula!” Maduro said.

For his part, the Cuban leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel, celebrated ‘Lula’s’ victory, explaining that it represented a step towards “unity, peace and Latin American and Caribbean integration.”

“Dear brother ‘Lula’, I congratulate you on behalf of the Cuban government and people, who celebrate your great victory in favor of unity, peace and Latin American and Caribbean integration. Always count on #Cuba,” he tweeted.

The Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, congratulated the winner with a brief message on Twitter: “’Lula’. Joy,” he wrote. His colleague from Bolivia, Luis Arce, said that the return of ‘Lula’ to the Presidency of Brazil “strengthens democracy and integration.” Former Bolivian President Evo Morales also joined in this congratulations.

While Bolsonaro remains silent, his followers lament the result

Messages of congratulations to ‘Lula’ even arrived from the Chinese embassy in Brazil.

On the side of the defeated, several hours after the total scrutiny of the votes, the current president and defeated candidate of this presidential race had not yet spoken. Sources close to the president reported that Bolsonaro isolated himself in the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, and that he did not want to meet with his ministers, except with his vice president.

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In Rio de Janeiro, a France 24 envoy, Alba Santana, felt the frustration and disappointment of Bolsonaro’s supporters.

“It’s terrible and the numbers speak for themselves, we have Venezuela, Cuba, now Argentina with cases of inflation and corruption and it’s not going to be any different here in Brazil,” confided a Bolsonaro supporter after accepting defeat.

But the majority, although disappointed, did not question the validity of the elections, rather they were consoled by a result that shows that the force of opposition to the ‘Lula’ movement is much stronger than expected.

with EFE