Brazil's Lula da Silva wins a fourth presidential mandate

Brazil's sitting president, the socialist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, won a fourth term in the second round of the general election held on 25 October, confounding predictions that his right-wing rival would narrowly win. His opponent, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, was refusing to concede defeat in spite of an initial count giving Lula a clear lead. The website Infobae noted that Lula was "until today" the first president to retain office after coming second in the first round of elections, adding that the 64 million votes he won (from a total of just over 128 million votes) was a record beating his 60 million votes of 2022. Regional leaders including conservatives swiftly recognized and congratulated him on his victory. The exception was the U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who had backed Bolsonaro; he appeared to doubt the election's legitimacy, alleging Lula had used "the Biden method" or manual to win, meaning he cheated.