Brazil Election: Scientists Cheer as Lula Wins

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won re-election on October 25, beating right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro in a close race. Lula received 51.8% of the vote, while Bolsonaro got 48.2%. Many of Brazil's scientists had hoped Lula would win because they were worried about what might happen to science funding if Bolsonaro took power. The result brought relief to researchers across the country.

The win was considered a surprise because Lula had actually finished behind Bolsonaro in the first round of voting on October 4. Since neither candidate got more than 50% of the votes that day, a second round was required. Lula managed to turn things around and pull ahead in that final vote. 'It was very moving to watch this historic turnaround,' said Sidarta Ribeiro, a brain scientist at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte.

Scientists were especially worried about Flávio Bolsonaro because of what his father, Jair Bolsonaro, did when he was president from 2019 to 2023. Jair cut funding for science and spread false information during the COVID-19 pandemic. He questioned vaccines and promoted treatments that had not been proven to work. Scientists feared Flávio would follow the same path.

More than 20,000 people signed an open letter from leading Brazilian science groups supporting Lula. The Brazilian Academy of Sciences in Rio de Janeiro was one of the groups that shared the letter. 'It's hard to express just how happy the scientific community and the Brazilian society is with Lula's victory,' said Paulo Artaxo, a physicist at the University of São Paulo.

Election day itself was not without drama. Shortly before the polls were set to close, a judge on Brazil's Supreme Court ordered them to stay open for two more hours. Both campaigns had asked for this because problems with public transportation made it hard for some voters to reach polling stations. After the results came in, Bolsonaro said in a short speech that he would not accept them.

Lula has a long history of supporting science and education in Brazil. This is actually his fourth term as president, which is a record for the country. He previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2011 and again starting in 2023. During those years, he worked to expand federal universities and make higher education available to more Brazilians, and he has promised to keep doing so.

In 2024, Lula launched a program that brought around 600 Brazilian scientists back home from jobs at universities and labs in other countries. Many of those scientists had left Brazil looking for better funding and resources. Lula also spoke clearly about the future in his victory speech, saying leaders must prepare young people for a world of artificial intelligence and robotics.

Bolsonaro had proposed moving Brazil's 69 federal universities from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Science and Technology, which has a much smaller budget. He also said he would focus more on applied sciences rather than basic research. Many scientists were troubled by that idea, because basic research is often the foundation for future discoveries.

The environment was another big concern for scientists going into this election. Under Lula's leadership, the destruction of the Amazon rainforest dropped to its lowest level since records began in 1988. But during Jair Bolsonaro's time in office, deforestation rose by nearly 60%. The Amazon is one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth, meaning it absorbs more carbon dioxide than it releases.

Lula has pledged to end deforestation in Brazil by 2030 and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. That deal was signed by many countries about ten years ago to slow climate change. 'Lula's government plan is very clear: he'll work towards zero deforestation in the Amazon and towards implementing energy transition programs that end the use of fossil fuels in Brazil,' Artaxo said. For Brazil's scientists and environmental researchers, the election result offers a hopeful path forward.