Lula da Silva has emerged as the wall against the expansion of Trumpism in Latin America with a historic electoral comeback, improbable and unprecedented. The victory, which will allow him to begin his fourth presidential term in Brazil on January 5th, is laden with symbolism: it is a rebellion of the popular grassroots, in which women have once again played a key role, in defense of democracy and sovereignty against the threat of an institutional coup d'état embodied by the candidacy of Jair Bolsonaro's son.

Far-right leader Flávio Bolsonaro is flying to the United States, after fleeing Brazil amidst his electoral defeat to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. According to various Brazilian media outlets and the Reuters agency, Bolsonaro entered Argentina this Tuesday night (at 3 a.m.), accompanied by his wife and two daughters, via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, which crosses the Iguaçu River and connects Brazil with Argentina. From there, he took a private flight on the Baires Fly company heading to Guayaquil, Ecuador, and at 11 a.m., he took off heading to Miami.

Precisely today, Lula da Silva turns 81. On Sunday he received the best gift to celebrate them. He is a bit older than Trump, who turned 80 in the month of June. And they are not the oldest heads of state: the King of Saudi Arabia is 90, the same age as the president of the Palestinian National Authority. And both are surpassed by the president of Cameroon, who is 93.

Beyond the internal effects for Brazil, Lula da Silva's unexpected victory in this Sunday's presidential elections has a major global impact, as it represents the first defeat of the reactionary wave driven by Trumpism in South America. Indeed, for Washington, Brazil was the big game piece on the continent after having achieved victories in Argentina with Javier Milei, in Chile with José Antonio Kast, in Colombia with Abelardo de la Espriella, and in Peru with Keiko Fujimori. The veteran Brazilian leader has achieved not only a historic comeback (never had a candidate who lost in the first round won before), but has broken a trend that seemed unstoppable.

The mobilizations taking place around the world (from Bangladesh to Barcelona, passing through Milan, Paris, and Madrid) can evidently have elements in common, starting with the fact that they are mobilizations on the streets of these cities that arise simultaneously, led by young people. But there are also differences that advise against viewing them as parts of the same whole. Here there is everything: protests, revolts, and demonstrations with more or less clear motivations, objectives, and slogans. And then there are also riots, blind acts of vandalism, and hollow actions that at most create social alarm and chaos, not to mention the destruction and looting. They seek to blend in with the other movements, and in fact, this confusion is their main objective.

There is hope against Trumpism and the global far-right. An 80-year-old man, who will turn 81 this Tuesday, has proven it against all odds. The victory, this Sunday, in Brazil's presidential election for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been received by global social democracy and also by liberal democrats as a red-hot iron to hold onto in the face of the ultra-conservative push radiating from the White House, the MAGA movement, and the social networks at its service.

Unlike what happened in Argentina with Juan Domingo Perón, Lulism will not become an ideology nor will it perpetuate itself as a political movement in Brazil, but rather it will disappear when Lula da Silva, who turns 81 this Tuesday, decides to step aside. For the moment, however, that has not been the case. The footprint of the social and income transfer policies established during his first two terms (2003-2010), which benefited 50 million Brazilians, 36 million of whom rose out of extreme poverty, has transformed the South American giant forever.

The family plan of former President Jair Bolsonaro, imprisoned for an attempted coup d'état, was for his entire clan to live parasitically off politics. His eldest son, Flávio, 45 years old and until now a senator, was the one who paved the way for his other three brothers. He, however, is the one who has gone the furthest by running for the presidency of Brazil. Although he stopped at the gates. For the moment, Bolsonaro has not accepted the defeat and has requested the annulment of the elections.

Nearly 159 million Brazilians with the right to vote will decide this Sunday who will occupy the Palácio do Planalto for the next four years and, implicitly, the future of the New Republic as it was conceived in the 1988 Constitution. President Lula da Silva, 80 years old, of the Workers' Party (PT), with a political career spanning five decades, faces Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, 45 years old, of the Liberal Party (PL), the firstborn of the former president imprisoned for an attempted coup d'état. The situation is completely unprecedented: the uncertainty is total.

The social sectors that left poverty behind thanks to the inclusive policies of Lula da Silva's first term in the presidency (2003-2010), now turned into the new Brazilian middle class, hold the key to Sunday's presidential runoff election. This segment, which represents 51% of the electorate, mostly supports the far-right candidate, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who already prevailed in the first round with 47.03% of the votes, ahead of Lula's 45.16%.

Sunday, October 18, 2026. Sant Gervasi, Barcelona. Half past four in the afternoon. Since it has been raining all morning, I go out for my customary walk at a time that is unusual for me. I cross paths with a couple about thirty-five or forty years old. He is wearing a t-shirt with the face of a young Lula da Silva (I see they have become fashionable) even though there is a bit of a chill. In one hand he holds an iPhone, in the other a paper cup. She is carrying an identical cup, and with her other hand she is pulling the leash of two enormous dogs. I thank them mentally: they have just contributed to the introduction of this article, which I intended to dedicate to discussing a book that was published just 50 years ago, a round enough figure to commemorate anything.

Donald Trump's government has entered fully into the Brazilian presidential race, which will hold its first round on Sunday, October 4th. The explicit support for the far-right candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, has transformed into an electoral interference operation that has forced Lula da Silva, who is running for re-election, and his executive branch to take measures to protect themselves.

Zapatero granted an interview to TVE to give explanations, as far as he is willing to give them for reasons of procedural strategy. It is legitimate: he is the first former Spanish president to be judicially investigated, and he is so on important charges, such as criminal organization, influence peddling, and document forgery.

The President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, has culminated this weekend in Barcelona the operation that began with his opposition to the Israeli occupation of Gaza and that today has made him a reference for the global left and, by opposition, the nemesis of Donald Trump. It must be admitted that Sánchez has known how to play his cards well internationally (perhaps better than domestically), and the success of this Saturday's summit of progressive leaders is the culmination of a strategy planned and executed from Moncloa to the millimeter.

For weeks, Pedro Sánchez has been working to crown himself the architect of anti-Trumpism. And this weekend he will be its graphic image in Barcelona. The Spanish president will bring together several world leaders from the progressive space to confront the reactionary wave that continues to grow globally. The first handshake was with the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Both have starred in the first Spain-Brazil summit, held at the Palau de Pedralbes in Barcelona, to strengthen relations between both countries and sign several strategic and commercial agreements. They will subsequently appear at a press conference.

For weeks, Pedro Sánchez has been working to establish himself as the architect of anti-Trumpism. And this weekend, he will be the graphic image in Barcelona. The Spanish president is bringing together various world leaders from the progressive sphere to confront the reactionary wave that continues to grow globally. The first handshake was with the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Both have led the first Spain-Brazil summit, held at the Palau de Pedralbes in Barcelona, to strengthen relations between the two countries and sign various strategic and commercial agreements. The two leaders have highlighted the alliance and sent an international message in defense of multilateralism and peace in the face of Donald Trump's warmongering confrontation.

Pedro Sánchez has inaugurated with Lula da Silva, president of Brazil, the weekend with which the Spanish government seeks to establish Barcelona as one of the reference cities against trumpism. The two leaders met this morning at the Palau de Pedralbes, where they held a meeting, and thus inaugurate two days in which up to three summits of international progressivism coincide in the Catalan capital, with the Spanish president acting as host.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva faces the last year of his third term strengthened on the international stage, thanks to a firm stance in confronting the interference of Donald Trump, with a stable local economy, but with the uncertainty of the presidential elections in October, which, once again, will be held in a scenario in.

With a handshake and two forced smiles, Donald Trump and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva staged reconciliation this Sunday in Kuala Lumpur. In a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit, being held in the Malaysian capital, the presidents of the United States and Brazil put the rough seas of recent months behind them and announced that their respective teams will "immediately" begin negotiations to lower tariffs. The thaw comes after the White House increased tariffs on most products from Brazil from 10% to 50% in August.

We said yesterday that the sentencing of Bolsonaro, the far-right leader and former Brazilian president, to 27 years in prison for an attempted coup d'état is an important international benchmark for the judicialization of politics, an anomaly not unique to Spain and a favorite weapon of populism and the far right when it comes to destabilizing the country. As we know here, putting the justice system at the service of political interests subverts the democratic principle of the separation of powers. But it's a transgression that some people happily commit if they can profit from it. When the trick backfires, it seems like a "judicial dictatorship," which is what Bolsonaro and his supporters are now denouncing.