Latin America’s left celebrates Lula’s victory: ‘The Pelé of progressivism’

The weakened Latin American left is celebrating Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s epic comeback in grand style — the “Pelé of progressivism” who is preparing to become president of Brazil for a fourth time. From Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum to Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, and including Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Chile’s Gabriel Boric, the bloc was quick to hail Lula’s victory as soon as it became irreversible, despite the defeated Flávio Bolsonaro’s promise to seek to annul the election. The right, split between acknowledging the result and remaining silent, has left Bolsonaro alone in his challenge.

Petro, the former Colombian president, was among the first to speak out. “Fascism in Latin America has been stopped in Brazil,” he wrote on X, his preferred communication channel since leaving office. “The free Brazilian people managed to stem the tide of fake bots, and the electoral system — which uses open-source software and is carefully maintained by the people — prevented fraud. Social justice in Brazil has been preserved, and the foreign attempt to seize its natural resources has been thwarted,” he added. Former president Ernesto Samper, who has worked on regional integration through Unasur and the Grupo de Puebla, said Lula was crowned “the Pelé of Latin American progressivism.”

Mexico’s Sheinbaum celebrated with a brief message accompanied by a photo of her embracing her Brazilian counterpart: “Long live democracy, the people of Brazil won. Congratulations President Lula!” Sheinbaum is the left-wing leader of the other Latin American giant, a survivor of the wave of progressive governments that have fallen one by one to an expanding far right.

The only other leftist governments in the region, besides Lula’s and Sheinbaum’s, are those of Bernardo Arévalo in Guatemala and Yamandú Orsi in Uruguay. “I have just spoken with Brazil’s president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a friend,” the Uruguayan said. “I congratulated him on the victory and on the democratic celebration that the electoral process represents.” Arévalo also joined the chorus of congratulations for “a great electoral day that consolidates democratic institutions.”

From the Southern Cone, former Argentine president Fernández de Kirchner and Buenos Aires province governor Axel Kicillof — who are competing for leadership of a weakened Peronism — joined celebrations for “comrade Lula.” Exuberant, Boric was even warmer. “Thank you, my dear friend, for never giving up the fight, for holding onto the hope of a world,” the former Chilean president wrote.

Several right-wing leaders in Latin America also congratulated Lula on his victory. The presidents of Paraguay and Bolivia, two of Brazil’s Mercosur partners, even beat some leftist leaders to it. “I salute the Brazilian people for this great democratic day. We share a common agenda of integration and development. We will continue working together for the welfare of our people,” Santiago Peña wrote on his social media before Lula had even delivered his victory speech. His Bolivian counterpart, Rodrigo Paz — more aligned to traditional right-wing politics than to the radical far right — said something similar: “We are neighboring, brotherly countries, united by a shared history and common challenges. We will continue working together to strengthen our relationship and create more opportunities for our nations.”

Chile’s president, José Antonio Kast, added his voice while his Brazilian counterpart began his speech from São Paulo. “I have just spoken with Lula and congratulated him on the election result. We have much future in common and will continue working on an agenda that boosts relations between our countries in economic integration and the fight against organized crime,” he said on X. Bolsonaro was still minutes away from announcing he would launch a legal battle to annul Sunday’s results. Meanwhile, Chile’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the electoral process “reaffirmed the value of citizen participation” and that Brazil is “a strategic partner.”

Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori, a member of the traditional right — but one of the most radical factions in the region — joined the movement even after Bolsonaro’s announcement. “I salute the Brazilian people for this democratic day,” she wrote on X, in line with the pragmatism of other leaders. “As we approach the bicentennial of our diplomatic relations, I reaffirm our willingness to strengthen our strategic alliance, integration, cooperation and the sustainable development of the Amazon we share, for the benefit of both peoples.”

They contrasted with the more radical leaders and those critical of the traditional right. Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, who in the first round had saluted Bolsonaro even before counting began, remained silent this time. A few days ago he had posted on his social media a conversation with the now-defeated candidate. “We are on the right side of history,” he told him. Argentine President Javier Milei has also not spoken. In his case a congratulation to Lula is unlikely, since he fed the narrative of possible fraud in the days before the vote. “I hope Lula’s last dirty campaign trick does not include stealing the election,” he said. Diplomatic relations between the two countries are at their lowest ebb after Milei called Lula “a thieving leftist” and “socialist trash” in July. Brazil subsequently withdrew its ambassador from Buenos Aires.

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