The Irish Times view on the Brazilian election: a dramatic win for Lula

The dramatic and unexpected re-election of Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva to a record fourth term is a remarkable personal achievement for the outstanding South American political figure of his generation. Importantly, it will reverberate across the world, a demonstration that the line can be held against the wave of Trump-cloned autocrats who threaten western democracies.Lula ended an18-month string of seven consecutive victories for right-wing candidates across Latin America and his win complicates plans by US president Donald Trump for dominance in the region.The 81-year-old’s victory came after a lacklustre first round three weeks ago when he trailed far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro by two million votes. It was the product of a mass mobilisation, galvanised by social media, of stay-at-home voters which saw an extra five million flock to the polls. A record turnout gave Lula ten million more votes, a 52 to 48 per cent majority, the…

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