Grassroots labor organizing helps Lula defeat far-right candidate in Brazil

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has secured a fourth term in Brazil, defeating far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro by a margin of more than 4 million votes. The victory, confirmed on Sunday, follows a period of intense political instability and attempts to overturn election results. This result is seen as a decisive rejection of the far right and a halt to the wave of right-wing governments sweeping the region.

From TikTok to Congress

The victory was bolstered by a historic achievement regarding labor rights. According to Jacobin, LGBTQ+ politicians, including trans congresswoman Erika Hilton, were central to a legislative push to reduce the Brazilian workweek from forty-four to forty hours. This movement was driven by grassroots organizing that began with a viral video by Rick Azevedo, a pharmacy assistant in Rio de Janeiro.

Azevedo used TikTok to rail against the "6 x 1" work regime—a six-day work schedule that Jacobin reports disproportionately affects black workers. Azevedo described the regime as a "modern form of slavery" and called for the working class to organise. Following the video's viral success, Azevedo founded the social movement Vida Além do Trabalho (VAT, or "Life Beyond Work").

The movement grew from WhatsApp groups and petitions into a national force. VAT crowdfunded protests in São Paulo and gained the support of Erika Hilton of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL). The momentum from these protests and the subsequent election of Azevedo to Rio’s City Council in 2024 helped keep fascism at bay and contributed to Lula's electoral success.

Breaking the political cycle

Lula’s win is being viewed as a break from what David Nemer, an associate professor at the University of Virginia, calls the "two-year American curse." Nemer told Mother Jones that Brazil had previously seen a cycle where US political trends were repeated two years later, including the rise of populist far-right leaders and anti-democratic riots.

Mother Jones reports that after the January 8, 2023, ransacking of government buildings in Brasilia by Bolsonaro supporters, the country faced the prospect of returning a member of the Bolsonaro family to power. Instead, the majority of Brazilians rejected Flávio Bolsonaro. Following the loss, Flávio refused to concede and fled to the United States with the assistance of aides to President Donald Trump.

Digital interference and regulation

The election was also marked by conflicts over digital platforms. Lula’s campaign alleged that Meta—the owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—used algorithms to suppress his content while boosting his opponent. According to Mother Jones, the Brazilian electoral court responded by ordering the company to ensure equal treatment for both candidates.

In his victory speech, Lula described his win as a victory against "outside interference" from companies like Meta and vowed to regulate digital platforms. As the country moves forward, questions remain regarding the role of big tech and US interference in the 2026 Brazilian presidential elections.

This piece was generated automatically by an AI model from the sources listed below. It has not been reviewed by a human editor.

Sources

• A Fight for Workers’ Rights Turned the Tide in Brazil — Jacobin
• How Brazil Broke the Far-Right “Curse” — Mother Jones