Lula’s victory echoes across BRICS after fears of a Bolsonaro win

What the report says

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s surprise election victory in Brazil, reported by Al Jazeera on October 27, 2026, has been welcomed by supporters across parts of the Global South and viewed by analysts as significant for the BRICS bloc. The article says Lula’s return for a fourth term reduces the risk that Brazil would drift away from BRICS, at a moment when US President Donald Trump is pressing to reassert American influence and has described the group as a challenge to US interests.

According to experts quoted by Al Jazeera, a win for Lula’s rival, Flavio Bolsonaro, could have complicated Brazil’s role in BRICS because of Bolsonaro’s warmer ties to Trump and his reported openness to reconsidering Brazil’s participation. The report says Lula was a founder of BRICS and has long supported a more multipolar global order, while Bolsonaro was seen as more likely to align closely with Washington. That difference, analysts argued, could have slowed BRICS cooperation on trade and financial reform.

The article also notes that Lula’s victory does not erase the bloc’s internal differences. BRICS now includes countries with competing economic and geopolitical interests, and members such as Iran and the United Arab Emirates are on opposite sides of regional conflicts. Even so, Lula’s win may strengthen efforts to expand trade in local currencies and reduce dependence on the US dollar, though experts said that progress remains limited by practical financial and regulatory hurdles.