Brazilian voters have denied Latin America’s resurgent right its ultimate prize, snapping a streak of seven straight conservative presidential victories in 18 months.

The stunning triumph of leftist incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over Flávio Bolsonaro on Sunday, with 51.8% of the vote to 48.2%, limits U.S. President Donald Trump’s drive to tighten his grip on the Western Hemisphere and cements Latin America’s most populous country and largest economy as a counterweight to Washington. A Bolsonaro victory would have left Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum as the only progressive president among the region’s powerhouses.

For the Trump administration, which has wielded punishing tariffs, severe sanctions and military force to reassert its dominance in the region, Lula’s victory complicates its campaign to enlist Brazil in its military coalition against cartels and to gain preferential access to the country’s critical minerals, analysts say.

    • Dagnet@lemmy.world
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      13 hours ago

      Exactly, the left needs a better candidate. Barely winning can just as easily turn into a loss

    • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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      17 hours ago

      At least those voters have shown they are generally smarter than the fuckwads voting in America recently

      • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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        14 hours ago

        All Americans who aren’t fuckwads, get your votes in before November 3rd!

        We can’t vote out the moldy orange but we can turn Congress, and we can strip the maggots out of our state, county, and local governments. That’s important to fight GOP gerrymandering and make voting easier for everyone, especially unfairly disenfranchised people. And build “minor leagues” of younger politicians who will soon have the experience necessary to do the actual job of running the country, not ruining the country while grifting and building Versailles.

        My ballot “has been received and will be counted.” Thanks for the text, California!

        Oh, but if you are a fuckwad, you can skip it. If you’re lazy and you have a Progressive friend, you can cheat off their Sample Ballot rather than bother to figure it out yourself.

        • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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          14 hours ago

          I’d take it here, trust me. I would love to go back to thinking most people aren’t very smart instead of most people are absolute morons and 25% would kill you for being different.