Democrats win control of both chambers of US Congress, and Lula wins Brazil's run-off, in a double setback for the populist right

Summary

In roughly 10 days, the two largest democracies in the Americas dealt setbacks to the populist right. In Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva staged a narrow but remarkable comeback, defeating Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, in a run-off after trailing in the first round. In the United States, voters handed control of both chambers of Congress to Democrats in a sharp rebuke of candidates riding on President Donald Trump's 'Make America...' slogan.

Timeline

1. South China Morning Post

   6 Nov 2026, 03:00 UTCSource ↗

   The South China Morning Post reports that Lula's narrow comeback over Flavio Bolsonaro in Brazil's run-off and Democrats' takeover of both chambers of Congress in the US midterms together dealt a double blow to the populist right.