“The people united will never be defeated!" wrote Zohran Mamdani.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses supporters during a victory rally after winning a fourth term in the presidential runoff on Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026.(Natacha Pisarenko / AP)
Progressive leaders in the United States joined with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and global advocates for democracy in celebrating Sunday’s remarkable election victory by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. After trailing far-right challenger Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in the country’s first round of voting earlier this month, Lula was written off by many analysts, who suggested that the largest country in South America would join its regional neighbors in swinging to the right.
Yet, after an energetic second-round campaign in which the 80-year-old former labor leader and veteran left-wing advocate rallied young people to boost turnout, Lula won a fourth term by 4.4 million votes – a comfortable 52-48 margin over a rival who was closely aligned with U.S. President Donald Trump. The New York Times recognized the result as a “stunning reversal,” while NBC announced, “Lula halts pro-Trump wave with Brazil turnaround.”
Lula celebrated the victory with what sounded like a message for Trump, telling his cheering supporters in São Paulo, “This country will not accept being anyone’s backyard.”
From Mexico, Sheinbaum highlighted a popular victory over the authoritarian right and despair. “Long live democracy, the people of Brazil won,” she said. Flashing an “L”—for Lula—sign with her hand, the Mexican president hailed the win as “a breath of fresh air for Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Sheinbaum’s enthusiasm was echoed by US Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent and two-time presidential contender, who paused his campaigning for Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan to declare, “Congratulations to Lula on his extraordinary reelection victory in the Brazilian presidential election. Lula has stood up for Brazilian workers and democracy — and will continue to do so in the next four years.”
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, wrote on Monday morning that, “Yesterday, Brazil showed the world that the will of the people is stronger than the authoritarians who try to suppress it,” while US Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, said, “People all across the world are fighting back against extremism. With Lula in Brazil, they just won. Authoritarian leaders always attack democracy because they stand no chance against the will of their people. Trump must respect the results and not undermine Brazil’s elections.”
Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union, simply posted, “LULA!” on social media. And from New York City, where he recently met with Lula during the Brazilian leader’s visit to the city for the United Nations General Assembly session, Mayor Zohran Mamdani summed things up with a celebratory affirmation of the historic promise of global campaigners for economic and social and racial justice: “The people united will never be defeated! Congratulations, President Lula.”
John NicholsTwitterJohn Nichols is the executive editor of The Nation. He previously served as the magazine’s national affairs correspondent and Washington correspondent. Nichols has written, cowritten, or edited over a dozen books on topics ranging from histories of American socialism and the Democratic Party to analyses of US and global media systems. His latest, cowritten with Senator Bernie Sanders, is the New York Times bestseller It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.