LAB Partner, Sumaúma, based in Altamira, at the heart of the Amazon, posted this heart-felt newsletter to all their supporters, on 26 October, after results of the previous day’s presidential run-off election became clear: a solid victory for Lula, confounding the pessimistic predictions of many after he trailed Flávio Bolsonaro in the first round. You can read the original here.

Dear Community

In the most spectacular turnaround since the beginning of Brazil’s redemocratization, Bolsonarism was defeated at the ballot box, creating some breathing room to take on the far right, which will continue its advance.

Ana, Paulo, Maria, Antonio, Leila, Carolina, Fábio, Lucas, Sonia, José, Carla, Francisco, Zilda, Sebastião, Gabriela, Hugo, Lorena, Marcelo, Laura, Diego, Emília, Pablo, Raimunda, Cláudia, Maurício, Alice, [insert your name here]… Every single one of you played a lead role in the most spectacular turnaround since Brazil’s redemocratization, shaping a historic moment you will be able to tell your children about. You got out there, you fought, you were part of the movement that saved Brazil (at least for now) from putting the Bolsonaro family back in power. You saved democracy (at least for now), helped protect the Amazon, fought so new generations (and older ones as well) would not have their future stolen. You prevented the Brazilian State from being placed at the service of the Bolsonaro family and its allies. You sent a message to a world beset by fascism. You. Us.

Lula pulled off a comeback victory, after trailing Flávio Bolsonaro by 2.2 million votes in the first round. This never could have happened without a victory even greater than Lula’s: the end of paralysis. The significance of Lula’s win is enormous, but the awakening of a share of the Brazilian population holds even greater significance. Ever since the movements of 2013—interpretations of which remain a matter of debate—no horror seemed great enough to get millions of people from the progressive camp to take to the streets in the name of a common cause. And there have been many horrors, like the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff in 2016, itself a coup. Like Brazil’s more than 700,000 COVID deaths, a substantial portion of which were a consequence of a deliberate delay in vaccine distribution and attacks on prevention measures by Jair Bolsonaro and his administration. Like the legislation known as the historic cut-off point passed by congress, trampling the rights of Indigenous people. Like the so-called Devastation Bill, which gutted environmental regulations in Brazil. Like all the forms of destruction that have withered life in recent years.

None of this was enough to rouse Brazil’s progressive camp.

In 2018, Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters harassed people dressed in red, women wearing mini-skirts, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community on the street and mães and pais de santo at Afro-Brazilian religious sanctums. This explosion of violence sparked fear but never a big enough reaction to confront the fascist horde. Back then, the strongest collective movement was Ele não—“Not him,” not Jair Bolsonaro—organized first by a woman from the Northeast and then sweeping across the country. But Bolsonaro the father was still elected, with all the consequences we know. Clearly, no street movement then had the same impact as what happened between the first and second rounds of the 2026 elections.

Before the first-round results, the general opinion seemed to be that this was the most lackluster election campaign of all time. And then Flávio Bolsonaro came out on top, and millions of Brazilians shook off the paralysis which was stifling their power. Even the streets of Amazonian cities dominated by Bolsonarism were flooded with rivers of people defending the only democratic project in the runoffs: Lula’s. Social media exploded with the creativity that has made Brazil a cultural reference point worldwide. The memes and skits produced by anonymous people deserve to be recognized as art. And all despite Meta acting as a campaign operative for Bolsonarism by restricting the reach and engagement of pro-Lula posts and profiles, as the United Nations itself noted.

Suddenly, fighting became the only verb in our daily lives.

Enjoy the read

SUMAÚMA
Xingu River, Altamira, the Amazon

Main image: Lula triumphant. Photo: Richard Silveira/Sumaúma