President Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Lula's landslide victory gives him a powerful mandate to press his anti-poverty campaign in his second term, but corruption scandals dogging his leftist party and thin support in Congress could obstruct his legislative agenda.
Lula secured another four years in office on Sunday with the support of tens of millions of poor Brazilians who rewarded him for easing poverty while making economic improvements for Latin America's biggest nation.
Beaming as he wore a white T-shirt emblazoned with "It's Brazil's Victory," Lula promised to boost growth and reduce inequality.
PHOTO: AP
"We're going to do a lot better in my second term than we did in the first," Lula said following his election victory over center-right rival Geraldo Alckmin, the former Sao Paulo state governor.
But after repeatedly denying knowledge of corruption allegations that slammed his Workers' Party during the campaign, Lula acknowledged the party faces a tough road ahead and must regain the prestige it once enjoyed as Brazil's most ethical party.
"From now on we do not have the moral, ethical or political right to commit errors," Lula told 5,000 cheering supporters in a late-night street party on Avenida Paulista in the heart of South America's largest city.
With 99.9 percent of the vote counted, Lula had 61 percent support and Alckmin 39.
Lula will have to deal with a host of thorny issues stemming from his first term, ranging from back-to-back corruption scandals to criticism that Brazilian growth has lagged behind other Latin American economies.
And while he wants to push important pension and tax reforms through Congress, Lula's legislative support is lower than it was when he first took office in 2003.
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