How did Lula beat Flávio Bolsonaro in Brazil's runoff, according to The Rest Is Politics?

Rory Stewart said almost every poll and analyst expected Lula to lose after Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president, beat him in the first round. Instead about 10 million extra voters came out, and turnout in the second round was higher than in the first for the first time in Brazilian history. Alastair Campbell credited intergenerational campaigning and a WhatsApp channel for Lula that reached 11 million people. He also pointed to two late gaffes by Bolsonaro, including mocking Lula's missing finger, lost in an industrial accident.

• A Lula rally in Rio de Janeiro drew a crowd of about a million people.
• Lula ran against a right-wing streak of seven straight wins across Latin America over 18 months.
• Donald Trump responded by suggesting the election looked rigged.

▸In their words

“nobody who'd lost in the first round had ever gone on to win in the second round.” Rory Stewart · at 30:01 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Rest Is Politics (2026-10-28). Read the whole episode summary →

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