Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is entering what could be the final presidential campaign of his decades-long political career, seeking another term in an election that has drawn attention beyond Brazil's borders.
Lula is running against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is running for the presidency after his father was barred from the race. The election comes after years of political polarization that intensified during Bolsonaro's presidency and continued after Lula returned to office in 2023.
Lula has presented the contest as part of a broader dispute over the direction of Brazil and has linked Flavio Bolsonaro to other right-wing leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei.
The election is also being closely watched across Latin America, where recent victories by right-wing candidates have shifted the region's political landscape. Supporters of Lula abroad have portrayed his possible reelection as an important counterweight to that trend, while his government has emphasized Brazil's role in defending multilateralism and democratic institutions.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month, Lula warned against what he called “foreign interference” in Brazil's election, saying the country “does not fit into anyone's backyard.”
Lula's return to power in 2023 marked one of the most dramatic comebacks in modern Brazilian politics.
After leaving office in 2010 with high approval ratings, Lula became the central figure in a sweeping corruption investigation. He was imprisoned for 580 days and was prevented from running against Bolsonaro in 2018.
His convictions were later annulled after Brazil's Supreme Court found that the judge who oversaw his cases had been biased and that the court in Curitiba lacked jurisdiction over the cases.
Bolsonaro won the 2018 election and defeated Lula's Workers Party candidate in the presidential race. Four years later, Lula narrowly defeated Bolsonaro and returned to the presidency.
Days after Lula's inauguration in January 2023, Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia. The attacks reinforced Lula's view that Brazil was facing a broader challenge from the political right.
Since returning to office, Lula has sought to strengthen Brazil's ties with China, expand the country's role in the BRICS group and deepen relations with Europe and other emerging economies.
His government has also had increasingly difficult relations with the Trump administration, particularly over trade and Brazil's political affairs.
Brazilian officials and Lula's allies have accused Washington of attempting to interfere in the country's electoral process, allegations the US government has rejected.
The issue gained prominence after US officials criticized Brazil's trade policies and after Washington sought discussions with Brazilian authorities about electoral integrity.
In a letter last week, 31 Democratic members of the US Congress urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to respect Brazil's election result and expressed concern about what they described as a campaign of interference in Brazil.
The State Department has previously denied accusations by Lula's government that Washington sought to influence Brazilian elections.