Lula celebrates election win as Brazil’s markets tumble

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva celebrated his unexpected victory in the presidential runoff election on Monday, with markets reacting negatively to the surprise result. The leftist incumbent, now 81 years old, secured 51.8% of the vote compared to his right-wing challenger Jair Bolsonaro, who received 48.2%. The market downturn triggered a 30-minute trading suspension on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange, following an initial surge after Bolsonaro's first-round win.

World leaders, with the exception of US President Donald Trump, congratulated Lula on his win, while other regional leaders expressed their willingness to work together. Lula received over 64.2 million votes, the highest proportion ever counted in Brazil, and attributed his victory to the rebellious youth who defended democracy.

Despite Bolsonaro's father requesting an annulment of the results and alleging election manipulation, political analysts believe that the significant margin of victory will make it difficult to challenge the legitimacy of the outcome. US President Trump has not commented on the election, but Lula accused US tech giant Meta of interference in the election.