Panama City: In the week leading up to the second round of elections on Oct 25, the most popular hashtag on Brazilian social media was #LulaVaiVirar, a rallying cry proclaiming that 'Lula will turn things around' after trailing in the first round. This was accompanied by massive rallies, drawing as many as 3 mn people across Sao Paulo's Avenida Paulista and Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana, to display their support for Luiz Inacio 'Lula' da Silva, an octogenarian, 3-time president running for office yet again.
To many, this last-ditch effort seemed implausible, as Lula received 2.2 mn fewer votes than his opponent Flavio Bolsonaro in the first round on Oct 4. All major pundits and pollsters forecast a Bolsonaro win. But the massive swell of street supporters and social media traction ultimately made the difference. Lula has now become the first-ever Brazilian presidential candidate to win the run-off after trailing in the first round, doing so by a comfortable margin of 4.4 mn votes.
