Brazil’s electoral court declared President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the winner of Sunday’s run-off over Flávio Bolsonaro by about 4.4 million votes, a comeback after he finished second in the first round. Brazilian stocks and the real fell sharply on Monday as investors reacted to the result.
Argentina’s Milei, who had backed Bolsonaro, was the only South American president who had not congratulated Lula by Monday afternoon. His office and the foreign ministry stayed silent, and government sources said the result did not come up at Monday’s cabinet meeting.
Brazil is Argentina’s biggest trading partner, and relations were already strained. Brazil pulled its ambassador from Buenos Aires after Milei called Lula a thief at a Bolsonaro campaign event in July, later downgraded diplomatic ties, and last week accused Milei of meddling in the election over a post on X.
Bolsonaro said he would not accept the result and would ask for the election to be annulled. He objected to a Supreme Court justice’s order, issued minutes after the scheduled 5 p.m. close, to extend voting by two hours. Electoral court president Kássio Nunes Marques, who was appointed by Jair Bolsonaro, said the extension did not change the outcome. Both campaigns had asked for more voting time, Lula’s over bus shortages and Bolsonaro’s over heavy rain.
Government sources told La Nación the delay is tied to Bolsonaro’s challenge to the result, and noted that the US government, which also backed Bolsonaro, had not recognized the win either. The same sources acknowledged that the margin is almost impossible to overturn.
On Sunday, as voting ran two hours past its scheduled close, Milei reposted messages on X that questioned the extension and the transparency of the vote. Later that night, presidential adviser Santiago Caputo wrote on X, without naming Lula, that analysts would now say the right’s “blue wave” was over and that “everything is going according to plan.” On Monday, Milei reposted a libertarian lawmaker’s message criticizing Lula’s voters over the fall in Brazil’s markets.
Leaders from across the spectrum congratulated Lula, including right-wing presidents José Antonio Kast of Chile, Keiko Fujimori of Peru and Abelardo de la Espriella of Colombia. In Argentina, former president Mauricio Macri, whose center-right party PRO is an ally of Milei’s party in Congress, did the same, as did leaders of the opposition Peronist movement, including Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof.
Quiero saludar al pueblo brasileño y felicitar a Lula da Silva en su cuarto triunfo electoral. Que su nuevo mandato traiga prosperidad y crecimiento para su país y también la región. @LulaOficial
Translation: "I want to greet the Brazilian people and congratulate Lula da Silva on his fourth electoral victory. May his new term bring prosperity and growth to his country and the region as well. @LulaOficial"
Lula’s new term begins on Jan. 5, 2027. The next summit of Mercosur, the South American trade bloc that includes both countries, is scheduled for December in Montevideo.
