Belgium

Brussels, 26 October 2026. The French-speaking Belgian press, led by La Libre Belgique and La Dernière Heure, is reporting on the dispatch announcing the re-election of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday, 25 October, for an unprecedented fourth term. With 51.8% of the vote against 48.2% for conservative senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the outgoing left-wing president, who will be 81 years old on Tuesday, has "defied all predictions" and won with a 4.4 million vote lead. He had nonetheless been overtaken in the first round by the son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), who was condemned for attempting a coup.

The account first highlights the regional contrast: Brazil "has ultimately not shifted to the right like Argentina, Chile, or Colombia, all supported by US President Donald Trump" and remains "one of the few progressive strongholds in Latin America". From the opening of the polling stations, La Libre recalled that nearly 160 million voters were called to the polls while the right, encouraged by Washington, "has recently racked up victories in the region".

From São Paulo, Lula stated that Brazilians "went to vote because we managed to convince them that the vote was very important to guarantee democracy". In a "more gravelly voice than ever", he thanked "the generosity of Brazilian youth", who took to the streets and mobilized on social media between the two rounds to achieve a "virada", the equivalent of a comeback in football.

The newspapers nonetheless emphasize the fragility of this victory. The head of state's room for maneuver is expected to be limited after the "conservative tidal wave" in the legislative elections three weeks ago, and the campaign has shown how divided the country remains. A judicial dispute also disrupted the election day: following a decision by a Supreme Court judge, the vote was extended by two hours.

Flavio Bolsonaro, for his part, has announced his intention to have the election annulled, which the Belgian headlines are reporting ("Bolsonaro wants the election annulled"). The available excerpts do not detail the content of his appeal or the reaction of the institutions; the coverage remains that of a news agency dispatch, without economic analysis or quotes from a local correspondent.