With 100 percent of ballots counted from Sunday’s presidential election, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party secured 47.03 percent of valid votes — 56,104,503 ballots. President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva of the Workers’ Party finished second with 45.16 percent, or 53,879,538 votes.
Neither man cleared the 50 percent threshold required to avoid a runoff. The second round will be held on October 25.
Of the nearly 160 million registered voters, 78.92 percent cast ballots — approximately 125.3 million people — with results published by the Superior Electoral Court that evening. The margin between Bolsonaro and Lula was roughly 2.2 million votes, the narrowest first-round presidential gap since Brazil returned to direct elections.
In Brasília, Bolsonaro told supporters the count marked “the end of an era” for Lula’s party. “Lula has fought seven presidential elections,” he said. “He’s worried about power. I am worried about the future of Brazil.”
Bolsonaro expressed “very happy with the vote of confidence” from nearly 56 million Brazilians and declared, “The country has spoken at the ballot boxes for change and for the future! Not only in the Presidency of the Republic, but also in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The overwhelming majority we achieved in Congress will bring back the legal security that Brazil desperately needs to grow.”
He pledged to put the people above party lines and fight “narcoterrorism” together with governors and mayors, adding, “Just a few days left until Brazil’s rescue.”
The São Paulo Forum, founded in São Paulo in 1990 by Lula, Cuban communist leader Fidel Castro, the Sandinistas, and the Colombian Marxist narco-terror organization FARC, has been described as “the strategic command of the communist and pro-communist movement in the continent.” Lula chaired it for more than a decade. During his first two presidencies (2003–2010), Brazil’s diplomacy, Venezuelan oil money, and Cuban intelligence became engines of the so-called Pink Tide.
When Lula returned to power in 2023 amid credible fraud allegations, the communist project resumed. In 2023, he stated that being labeled a communist or socialist “does not offend us. On the contrary, it makes us proud.”
Under this third term, Brazil increased imports of Russian energy and sent Lula to Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day parade. A U.S. congressional review this year identified a secret Chinese Communist Party military space facility in Bahia. Domestically, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes transformed the high court into an instrument of political control.
In September 2025, former President Jair Bolsonaro — Flávio’s father — was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for allegedly plotting a “coup” using tactics similar to the January 6 insurrection. He is currently serving his sentence under house arrest due to health issues.
In June 2026, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro received four years and two months imprisonment after urging U.S. sanctions on judges involved in the case. Federal Congressman Gustavo Gayer stated in 2024 that “Americans must understand that Brazil is no longer a democracy.”
Congressional results show Flávio’s Liberal Party will hold 28 of 81 Senate seats, making it the largest bloc. Bolsonaro supporters or allies won 14 governorships outright, while Lula-aligned candidates held only five.
Political scientist Miguel Lago noted that “miracles are possible in politics, but I don’t see that happening.” He added, “I don’t see Flávio losing this election now.” The same publication reported a historical fact: Since Brazil’s return to direct elections in 1985, the first-round runner-up has never won the second ballot.
Electoral maps indicate Flávio carried the entire South, Southeast, and Center-West regions, plus Acre, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins. Lula carried all nine Northeastern states — with Piauí at 71 percent and Bahia at 66 percent — and parts of the North.
In São Paulo, Flávio’s lead widened to 14 points from seven in 2022. In Minas Gerais, he secured 48.4 percent while Lula fell to 43.1 percent.
International reactions were swift. Argentine President Javier Milei praised the result as “FREEDOM ADVANCES IN BRAZIL,” expressing hope for stronger U.S.-Brazil relations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wished Flávio luck in the runoff. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, “It’s going to a second round.”
President Donald Trump criticized American voting practices: “125 Million People voted today in the first round of Brazil’s Presidential Election. The results came out shortly after the vote closed, on the SAME DAY! In Detroit, Philadelphia, California, and numerous other U.S. Cities and States, the results, with much smaller numbers, will often take weeks to calculate. Voting in America is CORRUPT!!!”
