Having lost the first round of Brazil’s presidential election to far right rival Flávio Bolsonaro, incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spectacularly triumphed in the second. What comes next for Brazil? The Guardian’s Tom Phillips is answering your questions now.
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BMcG0305 asks: A couple of questions. Is there any legal way Bolsonaro could use to contest the result? Also is there any potential way to stop certification of the result?
Tom: In a nutshell, no. His party acknowledged the election results yesterday and although Flávio Bolsonaro has said he will take legal action, legal experts agree he hasn’t a hope in hell of success. Donald Trump’s rather half-hearted claim of a “rigged” election, suggests the US president isn’t going to go to war with Brazil over this either – even if Steve Bannon is calling for all diplomatic and trade relations to be cut. It just isn’t going to happen.
Apart from Milei, rightwing leaders in Latin America have all recognised Lula’s win. In Brazil, meanwhile, prominent rightwing leaders have urged supporters not to take to the streets to protest against the election win, as they did before the 2022/23 coup attempt.
