Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil—On the left, tears of joy and profound relief. On the right, anger and resentment. On Sunday, Brazil elected former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to be president once again.
Lula, the leftist figure venerated by millions of Brazilians, beat the current, far-right icon, President Jair Bolsonaro, by a tiny margin of less than 1 percent.
“We beat back fascism, division, and hatred, and now it is time for Brazil to heal, unite, work toward a more just society and protect our beautiful Amazon rainforest,” exclaimed Lula supporter Maxi Quaresma as he was celebrating at São Salvador Square in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Laranjeiras.