The voting has “only one winner: the Brazilian people”, said the presidential candidate of the Workers’ Party (PT) in his first statement after defeating in the polls the ultra-right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, who aspired to be reelected by the Liberal Party.
With 99.98 percent of the ballots counted, Lula received 50.90 percent of the votes and Bolsonaro 49.10 percent, 2,135,334 votes over his political rival, after both contested the runoff as none of them achieve an absolute majority in the first round on October 2.
In his speech, the former mechanic also admitted that “we have reached the end of one of the most important elections in our history, which brought two opposing projects of the country face to face”.
He stressed that it was not a “victory of mine nor of the PT, but of an immense democratic movement, which was formed over and above political parties, personal interests, ideologies, so that democracy could win”.
He reiterated that he returned to power “to govern this country in a very hard situation. But I have faith that with the help of the people we will find a way out so that this country can live again democratically, harmoniously”.
Moreover, he added, so that “the people can even reestablish peace among families, among those who disagree, so that the people can build the world that we need, and Brazil”.
For Lula, in this historic October 30, the majority of the Brazilian people made it clear that they want more and not less democracy.
“They want more and not less social inclusion and opportunities for all. They want more and not less respect and understanding among Brazilians. In short, they want more and not less freedom, equality and fraternity in our country,” he said.
The former president remarked that the “Brazilian people demonstrated today that they want more than to exercise the sacred right to choose who will govern their lives, they want to actively participate in government decisions”.
Likewise, “they want more than the right to simply protest that they are hungry” and do not have jobs, sufficient salary to live with dignity, access to health and education and no opportunity for the future.
“The Brazilian people want to regain hope,” he stressed.
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