Brazil’s Bolsonaro loses bid for second term in fiercely contested presidential vote Published duration 30 January 2019 Related Topics Brazil elections 2019
image copyright Reuters image caption “The last time it was easy, the last time it was easy – that time it was easy,” Brazil said on Twitter
Brazil’s far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro suffered a huge defeat in Sunday’s second round of voting. And the country is now likely to hold a new election as soon as this summer.
His Workers’ Party (PT) suffered a crushing defeat, making it the first time since the 1950s that a left-wing party has been shut out of a presidential victory.
Mr Bolsonaro said the results showed that “the last time it was easy, the last time it was easy – that time it was easy”.
In a tweet, he said the result would lead to the country going to the polls as soon as possible.
However, some observers say the defeat suggests that Mr Bolsonaro’s aggressive and often crude rhetoric has put voters off.
The elections marked a new turning point for Brazil, which has been led by leftist and centre-right presidents consecutively since 1985.
Its left-wing Workers’ Party (PT) was founded in 1930, after Brazil became independent from Portugal, and played a leading role in the country’s fight for democracy at home and social justice abroad.
“I’m very sad,” the PT’s Fernando Haddad told AFP news agency in a television interview shortly after the results were released. “I want everyone to be very sad. And I want Brazil to return to work.”
Mr Haddad, who had lost to Mr Bolsonaro in the first round of voting, said the result showed the strength of the opposition.
“I don’t think this far-right candidate will get in,” he said. “I think that the people will elect a new president.”
The defeat of the PT leaves Brazil with Brazil, a country of more than 200 million people, facing the prospect of a second election in just 18 months.
image copyright Getty Images image caption
