Brazilians reacted on Monday (October 26) to the runoff election after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a fourth term and his opponent Flavio Bolsonaro has not conceded.

In the capital city, residents had different views on the election result. Luis Santos welcomed Lula's victory, saying the president deserved the chance to continue his work and accusing the Bolsonaro family and its allies of undermining democracy.

"We are going to keep fighting for democracy," Santos said. "As long as there is a fascist trying to usurp our country for an American president, we will fight."

Others questioned the legitimacy of the vote. Jeremias Oliveira criticized the decision to extend voting hours, calling it unprecedented and expressing hope that Bolsonaro's challenge to annul the election would succeed.

"I hope he manages to, because it’s not normal, people. This is wrong.”

As of Monday morning, Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, had yet to concede, and Lula faced the prospect of adversaries in Congress who do not recognize his win, analysts said. The scale of Bolsonaro's loss, with the senator trailing Lula by over 4 million votes, makes it unlikely his efforts to annul the vote will succeed.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

REFILE: Brazilians question runoff result, others celebrate after Lula's victory

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM CITIZENS / DRONE FOOTAGE OF THREE POWERS PLAZA

SHOWS: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (OCTOBER 26, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. NEWSPAPER VENDOR WORKING AT HIS STAND

2. VARIOUS OF NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGES REFLECTING ELECTION RESULTS

3. (SOUNDBITE)(Portuguese) LOCAL SHOPKEEPER, SANDRA MOREIRA, 71-YEAR-OLD, SAYING:

“I just hope that this president, if he is re-elected, does a little more for our Brazil. Because what is happening here in our world is very sad. That is my hope. I am disappointed by many things that happen around here. I have nothing more to say, because I am very disappointed in our country.”

4. CARS DRIVING IN THE CITY CENTER

5. PEOPLE WALKING IN STREET

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) LOCAL, JUAN PABLO LIMA, SAYING:

“Look, I hope he carries out everything he is doing, because all of his ideas and all of his projects are for the people. And I don’t mean ‘the people’ in a generic sense. It is for everyone. It won’t be only for the rich or only for the poor, but for everyone. I hope he carries out those projects and, well, we who work share his same essence, because he was a worker, and I think that is the most important thing in life.”

7. VARIOUS OF GABRIELA AGUIAR, 26-YEAR-OLD CIVIL ENGINEER, TALKING WITH HER BOYFRIEND

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) LOCAL, GABRIELA AGUIAR, SAYING:

“Look, I was very happy. I was totally in favor of Lula. We’re from Sao Paulo, and we were very tense during the count, but in the end everything turned out well, thank God. It was exactly what we expected: that Lula would be re-elected.”

9. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE TAKING PUBLIC TRANSPORT

10. VARIOUS OF VENDOR JOSE IGNACIO DA SILVA IN HIS STAND

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) LOCAL, JOSE IGNACIO DA SILVA, SAYING:

“It’s a step-by-step process. It’s like climbing a 20-step staircase, right? You go up one step at a time. You won’t skip steps; you’ll reach the last step. The country is very big. That’s why I think he, today at 81 years old, with all the experience he has from his career as president, known worldwide and applauded, will give great continuity to all of this.”

12. TRAFFIC IN STREET

13. PEOPLE WALKING IN THE RAIN

14. LULA CAMPAIGN STICKER ON THE GROUND IN THE RAIN

BRASILIA, BRAZIL (OCTOBER 26, 2026) (REUTERS – Access all)

15. (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE OF PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

16. GUARDS AT PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

17. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING AROUND BRASILIA

18. MAN WALKING WITH PRESIDENT, LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA’S FLAG ON HIS BACK

19. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) RESIDENT, LUIS SANTOS, SAYING:

“Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has made many contributions to the development of Brazil, and we cannot deny this president, who has fought so hard for this nation, the opportunity for his last term, to give continuity and to put the real fascists, the real coup plotters, behind bars, which is the Bolsonaro family and their accomplices. So we Brazilians are not going to give up on Brazil. We are going to keep fighting for democracy. As long as there is a fascist trying to usurp our country for an American president, we will fight.”

20. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE IN BUS TERMINAL

21. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) RESIDENT, JEREMIAS OLIVEIRA, SAYING:

“When they decreed that the vote would be extended for another two hours, or until Lula won, this is not normal. This has never happened in the country, never. We’ll wait and see what happens. Flavio (Bolsonaro) has already said he will file to annul this election. I hope he manages to, because it’s not normal, people. This is wrong.”

22. BUSES AT TERMINAL

23. PEOPLE COMING OFF MECHANIC STAIRS

24. PEOPLE WAITING AT TERMINAL

25. VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC ON BRASILIA AVENUE