The razor-thin defeat of Brazil's conservative President Jair Bolsonaro Sunday undoubtedly thrilled leftists throughout Latin America and the world.
In continuing a decidedly left-of-center trend in Latin America, Brazilians elected former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over Bolsonaro by 50.3% to 49.7% after one of the most bitter campaigns in their country's history.
Reporting the defeat of the strongman president widely dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics," the liberal press frequently omitted mention of the big triumph earlier this month of Bolsonaro's supporters in races for governor and both houses of the Brazilian Congress.
"Sixteen out of 26 states now have governors associated with [Bolsonaro's] Liberal Party," a top aide to a pro-Bolsonaro congressman told Newsmax shortly before the polls closed on Sunday evening. "And in Congress, the Liberal Party and its smaller allies have a working majority. Lula will not have an easy time setting Brazil on a leftward course."
Although President Bolsonaro may have been defeated, he added, "Bolsonarismo will live on for years."
A much-noticed winner on the right was Tarcisio de Freitas, Bolsonaro's minister of infrastructure and the winner of the governorship of Sao Paulo on Oct. 2. In rolling up 53% of the vote and thus eliminating the need for a run-off, de Freitas becomes governor of the most populous and wealthiest city in Brazil.
Coupled with the victory of de Freitas, the wins of other Bolsonaro allies in state elections means that 60% of Brazil will be governed by allies of the outgoing president.
In the next 513-member lower House of the Brazilian Congress, the Liberal Party will have 99 seats— 22 more than in the current House. With backing from smaller right-of-center parties, the Liberals will have a near-majority in the House. Lula's Workers Party will have 68 seats, making it the second-largest party in the House.
In races for the 27 seats in the Senate up for election this year, Bolsonaro's Liberals captured 13.
Also little noticed in reports of Bolsonaro's defeat was the increasingly strong infrastructure of the movement he created. Along with having a strong following among the agribusiness community and the army and police, Bolsonaro had support among the nation's fast-growing evangelical community.
Once considered a staunchly Roman Catholic country, Brazil has seen its Catholic population drop by an average of 1.2% per year since 2010. In contrast, the number of Evangelicals has grown by 0.8% a year since 2010. According to the latest figures, 31% of Brazil (roughly 65 million people) is now Protestant and most of that group are Evangelicals or Pentecostals.
Lula, 77, has promised to accentuate Brazil's role in dealing with climate change and has pledged to protect the Amazon rainforests from business development. Bolsonario, 67, who slashed funding for environmental protection and was critical of extreme climate change measures, had pledged to open the Amazon for business.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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