Brazil leftist Lula wins third presidential term to redeem tarnished legacy

Brazil's former President and presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva leads the 'march of victory', in Sao Paulo, Brazil October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Carla Carniel

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a third presidential term on Sunday in a remarkable comeback for the country's first working class president, whose storied political career nearly ended in prison.

A former metalworker born to illiterate farm hands, Lula has been the most central figure in Brazilian politics for four decades, since leading labor union strikes against a military dictatorship in the 1980s and forming the leftist Workers Party.