Peru

Lima, October 26, 2026. Peruvian media, from El Comercio to Andina, including Gestión, RPP, and Diario Correo, are reporting a tight election and an unprecedented outcome. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the second round on Sunday, October 25, with 51.76% of the vote against 48.24% for Flávio Bolsonaro, according to Infobae Perú, which translates to nearly 4.4 million more votes, according to Gestión. Diario Correo highlights that this is the first time since the end of the military dictatorship (1964-1985) that a candidate who came in second in the first round has won in the second, and that no president has been elected four times. Andina notes that none of the major polls had predicted this result.

The election day is receiving extensive coverage. According to RPP, Lula's team filed an "urgentísimo" appeal with the Superior Electoral Tribunal to extend voting by two hours due to disruptions in voter transportation; Flávio Bolsonaro had also requested an extension in several states, citing heavy rainfall. The president of the Tribunal, Kassio Nunes Marques, criticized the measure: "never in the history of the TSE has there been an extension," he said, while acknowledging Lula's victory, according to El Comercio.

Flávio Bolsonaro, for his part, stated that it was "impossible to recognize" these elections and that he would request their annulment, denouncing a decision by Judge Cristiano Zanin, a former lawyer for Lula. Lula responded that his victory was "a defeat of lies and negationism" and that Brazil "does not accept being anyone's backyard," in reference to American pressure. Diario Correo sees this as a brake on the rightward turn that Latin America is experiencing, encouraged by Donald Trump.

The specifically Peruvian angle is that of the bilateral relationship. Keiko Fujimori congratulated Lula on X: "I congratulate President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his re-election and salute the Brazilian people for this democratic day." As the bicentennial of diplomatic relations approaches, she reaffirmed her willingness to strengthen the strategic alliance, integration, and sustainable development of the shared Amazon region. Infobae recalls that Brazil is Peru's main commercial partner in the region and that the Bioceanic Train, a corridor to the Asia-Pacific region via Peruvian coastal ports, remains a common geopolitical interest. The Brazilian electoral dispute is being treated as an internal matter of the neighboring country.