Lula wins re-election in Brazil; real and stocks fall, Amazon activists cheer, speech draws criticism

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won re-election in a Sunday vote, and Brazil's real fell about 12 percent against the U.S. dollar in spot trading. Bovespa stock index futures dropped nearly 15 percent on Monday. The exchange halted trading for 30 minutes after the index fell 10 percent from its previous close, triggering a circuit breaker. The losses reversed a rally earlier this month, when investors expected a shift to the right after Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, led the first round. Analyst Rachel Ziemba of the Center for a New American Security said traders were unwinding bets on a Bolsonaro win and tighter fiscal policy. She said Bolsonaro's refusal to concede added uncertainty, but the scale of the margin suggests the result will stand, and strong commodity revenue could still support the real. One report said Lula used his Sunday victory speech to warn that his government would use its power to try to censor objectionable political voices online, and that a last-minute decision to keep some polling stations open late hurt trust in the results. Climate activists in Brazil welcomed his win, noting a record decline in Amazon deforestation during his previous four years.

Right-leaning Breitbart leads with Lula's speech, calling the win dubious and Lula a Marxist. It centers on the threat to online speech and the extended polling hours, and says nothing of markets or the Amazon. Left-leaning outlets tracked by Crosswire had not reported the story at the time of writing; only alternative/independent and right-leaning outlets had. Alternative outlets take different angles. Al Jazeera focuses on the currency and stock plunge, quoting Ziemba, and treats the result as likely to stand. France 24 focuses on the Amazon and activists' celebration. Neither mentions the speech or the polling-hours dispute. The sides agree only that Lula won.