Lula re-elected in Brazil: a hope for the planet?

On Sunday, October 30, after a particularly tense and lacklustre campaign, Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva narrowly won the presidential election (50.9% of the vote) against far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro. It is the spectacular return to power of the metal worker, founder of the Workers’ Party (PT), who presided over the country for two consecutive terms between 2002 and 2010, and was in prison for more than a year and a half before being cleared in 2019. It is also a relief for the future of the Amazon forest, which his rival has largely contributed to devastate.
Bolsonaro’s long silence after the announcement of the results raised fears of the worst. Without officially acknowledging his defeat, he finally declared that he wanted to “respect all the commands of the Constitution”. But his supporters are mobilizing in large numbers in the streets to contest the election. Lula will have a lot of work to do to bridge the gaping divide that Bolsonaro, through his disastrous mandate, has dangerously contributed to dig.