“I felt suffocated for four years, today is the time to laugh,” says this 34-year-old computer programmer on Paulista Avenue, an emblematic place for left-wing demonstrations.
At his side, a group happily sang “It’s time for Jair to leave”, a tune sung at the top of their lungs by the Lulists during the campaign.
“I won, it’s a victory for me, like everyone I cry with joy,” said Mary Alves Silva, a 53-year-old banker, in the crowd, with Lula stickers covering her arms and chest.
She also believes that this is also a victory for the Amazon rainforest and its indigenous inhabitants.
In a bar in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Carolina Freio, a 44-year-old civil servant, said she felt “an indescribable feeling” after bursting into tears at the official announcement of Lula’s victory, 50.9% against 49, 1% for outgoing far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
“He represents so many things: gender equality, freedom. Lula will change everything,” she says, overwhelmed with emotion.
In a bar in Leme, a district of Rio de Janeiro, Victoria Cabral, very nervous until the announcement of the results, “cannot understand how half the country voted for Bolsonaro”.
“But I think hope is finally coming back. It goes beyond politics, we’re talking about humanism. Bolsonaro is racist, homophobic, thief, misogynist… Not that Lula is the ideal candidate, but he is so much better,” she says.
– “It takes a miracle” –
As the outcome took shape, Bolsonaro supporters gathered in the capital Brasilia knelt down and raised their arms to implore heaven in prayer.
“We need a miracle,” a speaker shouts into the microphone, as tears of despair begin to trickle down their faces.
“I hope the president will meet the generals, that things can still change,” said a 57-year-old dentist who did not want to give his last name, implying an attempted coup.
Ruth da Silva Barbosa, a 50-year-old teacher, said she was “outraged” by the result. “The Brazilian people are not going to swallow an election manipulated like that and hand the country over to a bandit.”
In Sao Paulo, the possibility of a violent reaction from the Bolsonarists tarnished the joy of Larissa Meneses.
The outgoing president, who threatened during the campaign not to recognize his defeat and who had not yet spoken on Sunday evening, must still lead the country for the next two months.
“I’m scared because I think he’s capable of anything, but I also think democracy will prevail,” she said. “I hope we will continue to resist, to push” and “we will go all the way, shouting that hope is the last thing that dies”.
William Alves, a 37-year-old businessman with frizzy hair and thick-rimmed glasses, expected the “result to be tight, but not this tight”.
“It’s a painful victory but it is historic,” he said, hoping “that the Constitution will be respected”.
A beer in hand, Diana Rafaela, a 35-year-old saleswoman, says she is celebrating the triumph over “fascism”, but calls for caution. “Now we have to rebuild Brazil, because it’s not overnight that we’re going to find jobs, education and purchasing power.”
While the party around Lula continued with a huge crowd, Rogerio Barbosa came to sell Brazilian flags near a Sao Paulo metro station, repacking, sorry, his merchandise.
“I came in case Bolsonaro won, so I could sell his flag,” the 58-year-old said. “I preferred Bolsonaro, God, family. Now I’m going to see what Lula can do for us,” he said fatalistically.
