Brazilian Ballots

Brazil’s incumbent president pulled off an election upset Sunday.

After trailing by 2.2M in first-round voting earlier this month, left-wing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro 51.8% to 48.2% in the runoff. A massive social media campaign and higher-than-expected voter turnout are credited with helping the 81-year-old secure an unprecedented fourth term (learn more about the ups and downs of Lula’s political career).

Flávio’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, lost his own reelection to Lula in 2022 and was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup. Flávio’s party conceded for him after he initially refused to accept the results; he then reportedly fled to Florida, defying a court order to surrender his passports.

Brazil’s main stock index was shaken by Lula’s surprise victory, plunging 14% Monday as a bubble built on Bolsonaro’s investor-friendly campaign promises popped.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Just as many Americans view the outcomes of foreign elections with a certain level of detachment, Christians view earthly political outcomes as secondary to the campaign of our eternal home, where we hold our truest citizenship.

“From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective.… in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us.”
2 Corinthians 5:16, 19-20 (CSB) (read full passage)