Original article: «Estas elecciones fueron una derrota del negacionismo»: Lula celebra triunfo sobre la ultraderecha y denuncia campaña de mentiras

Lula Declares Victory Over Ultraconservatism: A Resounding Defeat for Denial and Misinformation

“This election was a defeat for denialism”, declared Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after triumphing in the runoff election this Sunday.

The candidate from the Workers’ Party (PT) celebrated his success against the ultraright represented by Flávio Bolsonaro and denounced attempts at external interference along with a campaign of lies and misinformation throughout the electoral race.

“This election was a defeat for lies (…) I never imagined a person could lie so much,” he stated while referring to Bolsonaro.

“I admit that every time I went to a debate I felt embarrassed,” he expressed.

Furthermore, he accused the ultraright candidate of repeatedly lying throughout the campaign and recalled his ties to paramilitary sectors.

In fact, in 2024, the senator became the lawyer for police officer Bruno Dias Delarolli, who is accused by the Public Ministry of firing the shots that killed a girl in 2021 while she was playing in front of her house.

As a lawyer, Flávio Bolsonaro managed to overturn the decision from the Superior Court of Justice (STF) to bring the case before a jury.

“Everything seems fake,” he remarked about the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest after being sentenced to 27 years for attempting a coup in 2022 after losing the election against him.

Defeating Foreign Interference Through Digital Platforms

“We defeated foreign intervention through digital platforms, which need to be regulated,” the reelected leader stated, referring to the interference by digital platforms and tech companies that, he noted, are making enormous profits, avoid paying taxes, and attempt to influence election outcomes.

Days before the runoff, Lula’s team reported that during the campaign, Meta disabled their ads, which the company, owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, attributed to alleged “technical problems.”

Additionally, posts from the progressive leader were blocked from promotion on Instagram for nearly a day, while those from the Liberal Party candidate operated normally.

He reiterated his commitment to regulate digital platforms and suggested that “crime in the digital world must be treated the same as crime in the real world.”

At the same time, he made it clear he would not allow his statements to be misinterpreted by malicious journalists, asserting, “I will not let that happen.”

“I Must Govern for 215 Million Brazilians”

The PT leader was declared the official winner of the elections by the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) at 21:09 local time, with 99.98% of the votes counted, achieving 51.78% of the valid votes compared to 48.22% for Bolsonaro.

Following the announcement of the results, the president stated that he would conduct “the best mandate in the history of this country” and assured that “as we win elections, we no longer have adversaries.”

“I now must govern for 215 million Brazilians,” he emphasized.

In his speech, he highlighted the significance of the vote as a tool to preserve institutions and the continuity of democracy.

“We convinced people that voting was extremely important to safeguard democracy in Brazil,” said the leader, who will serve his fourth term and second consecutive term.

Brazil “Will Not Accept Being Anyone’s Backyard”

As he did throughout his electoral campaign, Lula reaffirmed his commitment to defend Brazil’s sovereignty and autonomy, ensuring that under his administration, the South American giant “will not accept being anyone’s backyard.”

He also defended his foreign policy and made it clear that “our Government speaks equally to all.” It does not shout at Bolivia while using a fine voice towards the United States,” he emphasized, as reported by Mdz Mundo.

The reelected president indicated that Brazil should aspire to take a central role on the international stage and reiterated that environmental policies would be an essential part of his new administration.

“We want to be a central country, not peripheral. We will show the world how climate policies are handled in this country,” he stated.