Genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping personally congratulated Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday after Brazil affirmed his victory in this year’s presidential election, extending his rule for a fourth term in office. Lula, according to Brazilian election officials, defeated conservative rival Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro on Sunday in a closely contested race, the first round of which Bolsonaro won against expectations. In the second, runoff election, Lula obtained about 52 percent of the vote to Sen. Bolsonaro’s 48 percent, a margin of victory that apparently ultimately convinced Sen. Bolsonaro not to question the integrity of the election.
Sen. Bolsonaro nonetheless accused Lula of “abuse” of power and cast doubt on the authenticity of Lula’s victory. Of particular note was an unprecedented judicial decree issued by just one justice on the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), former Lula defense attorney Cristiano Zanin, declaring that polling stations should be open an extra two hours in response to alleged transportation issues in the nation’s northeast, Lula’s most loyal political base. The decree was issued after many polling stations had already shut down, denying them of the opportunity to tally more votes. The senator also accused Lula of misappropriating public funds to bolster his campaign coffers describing it as “the largest vote purchase in the history of elections in Brazil.” The statement from Xi, and similar celebrations from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Chinese state media, responded to Lula’s reelection as if it were uncontroversial, instead affirming China’s affinity for Lula and his socialist policies and expressing optimism for future collaborations.
