Brazil: Lula re-elected as President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has narrowly won Sunday's runoff vote for the Brazilian presidency. The left-wing incumbent president secured 51.8 percent of the valid votes while his right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro received 48.2 percent. Commentators ask what direction the country will take during Lula's fourth term in office.
No answers to key questions
Jan Heidtmann, the Süddeutsche Zeitung's Latin America correspondent, wonders what the winner of the election still has to offer for Brazil:
“Although the president and his supporters have once again mobilised all their forces, in terms of substance they have reached a dead end. Despite decades in power they have failed to find convincing solutions to the most pressing problems facing Brazilians: rampant crime, corruption reaching up to the highest echelons of politics, and the high levels of debt burdening many individuals. ... They must develop – while keeping the country functional – what da Silva's campaign lacked from the outset: a convincing and well-founded narrative explaining why a political veteran like Lula da Silva of all people should represent Brazil's future.”
The last bastion
La Repubblica paints an enthusiastic portrait of the victor:
“What an epic story the life and career of Luis Inácio Lula da Silva is. He is the last great bastion of the South American left. ... This time, democracy itself was at stake. And after being defeated in the first round he has risen again. He is the first president to have won a fourth term in office. Trade unionism, the founding of the Partido dos Trabalhadores, the election, the corruption allegations, his imprisonment, his re-election, his illness and the attempted coup against him: these are the cornerstones of a story that has never ceased to fascinate and inspire, but has also divided: in Brazil, you either love him or hate him. And last night, love prevailed once again.”
Left-wing policies not enforceable nationwide
Lula's winning the elections won't necessarily translate into left-wing policies, Politiken explains:
“Lula's victory by no means implies that politics and the fierce battle over values in Brazil will shift to the left over the next four years. The right has, in fact, gained significant ground in the national parliament and in the federal states. The majority in the national parliament is centre-right. ... In the federal states that encompass the Amazon rainforest, there are now more governors from the right than before, and they are more focused on helping farmers, landowners and mining companies than on enforcing environmental regulations.”