Brazil's currency and stock market plunge after leftist Lula wins a historic fourth term in a surprise comeback
Flávio Bolsonaro reacts to his defeat in the Brazilian presidential election, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured 51.7 per cent of the vote after a Supreme Court ruling extended voting hours in Bahia.Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving his sentence under house arrest, lost to Lula da Silva in 2022 — no candidate trailing after a Brazilian first round has ever won a runoff.
The Brazilian real dropped by nearly 12 per cent against the dollar when trading opened on Monday. The Bovespa index fell 10 per cent in Sao Paulo, triggering a circuit breaker that halted trading. In New York, a fund tracking Brazilian stocks slumped as much as 26 per cent. BTG Pactual's Jerson Zanlorenzi called the result 'a tsunami that will hit all Brazilian assets'.
Flavio Bolsonaro refuses to concede and demands the result be annulled.
He blames a two-hour voting extension that his own campaign had also requested.
Lula won 51.8 per cent, the first second-placed first-round candidate in Brazil to win.
