President congratulates Brazil’s Lula on election victory
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian congratulated Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his victory in Brazil’s presidential election, expressing hope for stronger bilateral relations and expanded cooperation.
In a congratulatory message to Lula da Silva on Monday, Pezeshkian expressed hope that friendly ties between Iran and Brazil would further expand during the new presidential term.
He also called for enhanced cooperation between Tehran and Brasília in areas of common interest, saying such efforts would help serve the interests of both nations and strengthen multilateralism, development and international peace.
The Iranian president wished Lula success in carrying out his responsibilities.
The leftist President Lula was re-elected against all expectations on Sunday, but his conservative rival Flavio Bolsonaro refused to accept the loss and said he would seek to have the vote annulled.
Lula’s dramatic comeback meant Brazil had not followed Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru, all backed by US President Donald Trump, in swinging to the right.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen hailed Lula’s re-election as a triumph for “democracy and multilateralism”, joining a slew of world leaders who welcomed the leftist figurehead’s return for an unprecedented fourth term.
Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, defied projections to defeat Bolsonaro, a senator and the son of jailed former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, and win an unprecedented fourth term.
According to official results, he won 51.8 percent of the votes to 48.2 percent for Flavio Bolsonaro, with Lula pulling around 4.4 million more votes.
Lula was warmly congratulated by the leaders of left-wing governments across Central America, including Mexico, Cuba and Venezuela.
“Long live democracy, the people of Brazil won,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on X.
Right-wing governments in Chile, Ecuador and Peru said they wanted to work towards common goals with the region’s economic powerhouse.
China echoed that sentiment, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also offered his friend Lula his “heartiest congratulations.”