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RIO DE JANEIRO — <\/span>Brazil\u2019s President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, was reelected Sunday in a result that keeps some distance between Latin America\u2019s biggest economy and Washington. <\/p>\n With 100% of the vote counted, Brazil\u2019s electoral court announced that the soon to be 81-year-old Lula held an unassailable lead. The announcement capped an evening of chaos at polling places across Brazil, following a last-minute decision to extend voting by two hours. That decision by a Supreme Court justice may trigger legal action by opponent Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n His triumph bucks a trend in Latin America where increasing numbers of right-of-center presidental candidates<\/a> allied with Trump have been winning, further extending the United States\u2019 influence in the region. Lula\u2019s victory leaves Mexico and Brazil, Latin America\u2019s two most populous nations, with left-of-center leaders. It also positions Latin America\u2019s largest economy, with a GDP of $2.6 trillion per year, to remain independent of the U.S., despite the pressure of increased tariffs imposed by Trump.<\/a><\/p>\n The announcement kicked off a celebration of supporters in and out the Sao Paulo hotel where Lula watched the count with First Lady Ros\u00e2ngela da Silva, allies, and friends.<\/p>\n Lula\u2019s victory, if confirmed by electoral authorities, will give him his non-consecutive fourth term as president. The next term begins on Jan. 5, 2027.<\/p>\n It is the first time since Brazil\u2019s military dictatorship ended in 1985 that the second-highest vote getter in the first-round elections won the presidency. Bolsonaro had 47% of the vote in the first round to Lula\u2019s 45%, a difference of 2.2 million votes.<\/p>\n Lula and Sen. Bolsonaro have yet to address their supporters.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s victory will likely be the last of the veteran leader\u2019s political career. Lula began his political career in the 1970s as a union leader. He then helped found the Workers\u2019 Party, which he represented as a presidential candidate three times until he finally won it in 2002. He was reelected four years later and was succeeded by one of his cabinet ministers, Dilma Rousseff, in 2010. She was reelected in 2014.<\/p>\n Rousseff was impeached for accounting maneuvering in 2016 amid a sprawling corruption probe, which also ensnared Lula. He tried to run for president again in 2018 but was jailed in March after being convicted.<\/p>\n Lula was released from prison after 580 days and saw Brazil\u2019s Supreme Court annul his sentence after police found messages that showed the judge who convicted him was biased. He quickly became one of former President Jair Bolsonaro\u2019s biggest critics and narrowly beat him in 2022.<\/p>\n Lula admitted in 2024, two years into the job, that his administration had done little that far to earn the support of his voters.<\/p>\n Since he lost the first round, Lula reorganized his campaign, appealed to young voters, put millions of Brazilians on the streets to defend democratic values and his legacy, raised fears of another Bolsonaro administration and boosted several government initiatives.<\/p>\n Lula also defended Brazil\u2019s sovereignty and insisted that a Bolsonaro presidency would allow the U.S. to exert control<\/a> over Brazil.<\/p>\n He joins Trump and Nicaragua\u2019s President Daniel Ortega \u2014 all age 80 \u2014 as the oldest presidents in the Americas.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Savarese reported from Sao Paulo. Brigida reported from Brasilia. <\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow AP\u2019s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/latin-america<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n