Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro becomes first sitting president to lose re-election bid

Far-right Jair Bolsonaro became the first sitting president since the 1990s to lose the presidential runoff election.

Bolsonaro, who could secure only 49.10 per cent of votes, lost to the leftist former leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won 50.90 per cent of the votes, on Sunday.

Local media reported that there is a high chance of Bolsonaro not accepting his defeat in the elections following the footsteps of his model Donald Trump.

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The reign of the hardline far-right leader, who is dubbed the“Donald Trump of Brazil”, was marred by the disastrous handling of the Covid pandemic which left more than 680,000 dead,attacks on democratic institutions and the worst deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in 15 years.

Watch | Brazil Presidential Polls: Lula da Silva wins elections again at the age of 77 with 50.90% of votes

He rode to electoral victory four years ago by promising to clean up politics, shrink the state and crack down on crime.

Born in 1955 to a Catholic family with Italian roots, Bolsonaro served as a paratrooper in the military before starting his political career in 1988 as a Rio de Janeiro city councillor.

Two years later, he was elected to the lower house of Congress, where he has been since.

He has ignited one explosive controversy after another with his misogynist and racist remarks.

In 2003, he said a female lawmaker he opposed was "not worth raping."

In 2011, he told Playboy magazine he would rather his sons be killed in an accident than come out as gay.

In 2016, he dedicated his vote to impeach leftist former president Dilma Rousseff to the military officer who headed the torture unit where she was detained as a political prisoner during the dictatorship.

With piercing blue eyes, Bolsonaro was known for his physical strength in his army days - earning the nickname "Big Horse."

Bolsonaro has four sons - three of them politicians - and, in what he called a moment of "weakness," a daughter.

(With inputs from agencies)

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