Lula marks 81st birthday with pledge to devote himself to Brazil after election win
Brazil’s president promised his best term after winning a fourth presidency, as his spending plans face investor scrutiny.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva turned 81 on 27 October and pledged to devote himself to the country after winning a fourth term in a 25 October runoff, according to AFP. His promise comes as investors weigh how he will pay for social measures while containing public debt.
In a video posted on Instagram, Lula said he would deliver ‘the best term any president has ever served in the history of this country’. He added: ‘I will dedicate 24 hours a day to making this country into the country everyone dreams of,’ AFP reported. It was a statement of ambition as he prepared for another term, with no specific measure announced in the remarks quoted by AFP.
How Lula won a fourth term
Lula defeated Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in the 25 October runoff, taking 51.8% of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 48.2%, AFP reported. Bolsonaro is the son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro. Lula had lost the first round to his rival before recovering to win the presidency, a reversal that put questions about his age alongside the contest’s political stakes.
Lula described himself as ‘fitter than ever’ during the campaign. AFP reported that he jogged at events and posted videos of gym workouts, while questions about his age persisted. After his victory, he thanked Brazil’s ‘rebellious youth’ for campaigning for him. His Workers’ Party called on supporters to mark his birthday outside the presidential residence in Brasília on 27 October.
The fiscal pressure facing Lula’s next term
CNBC reported a sharp sell-off in Brazilian stocks, the real and government bonds following Lula’s re-election. On the Monday after the vote, the benchmark stock index fell 13.9% and the real lost nearly 8% against the US dollar, according to CNBC. The yield on Brazil’s 10-year government bond rose 2.46 percentage points to its highest level in more than a decade, the outlet reported.
Investors are focused on whether Lula can fund promised social measures while managing Brazil’s rising debt burden, CNBC reported. His agenda includes protecting existing benefits, raising the minimum wage faster than inflation, expanding housing and education support, cutting taxes on essential foods, and shortening the workweek to 40 hours without a pay cut. Analysts cited by CNBC expect fiscal restraint to be difficult to reconcile with that agenda, especially with a hostile Congress. Those pressures will shape the term Lula has promised, though his birthday remarks did not set out how he would address them.
Read in depth: World
Costa Rica withdraws Pacific trade pact bid and dismisses trade minister
President Laura Fernández cited a lack of transparency in the accession talks, while former trade minister Indiana Trejos disputed that assessment.
Calgary councillors seek pause on large data-centre rezoning applications
The proposed pause would give the city time to study infrastructure impacts and write zoning rules. Its effect on a project already under review remains unclear.
Sources and context
- Brazil’s Lula turns 81, vows to work ‘24 hours a day’, following historic election winAFP, carried by The Straits Times
- Lula’s election win leaves Brazil facing a fiscal tightropeCNBC
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.