Folha de S.Paulo named the PL and Minas Gerais governor-elect Cleitinho Azevedo among the winners, while placing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the PT among the losers. The list is the columnist’s interpretation of results published by Brazil’s electoral authority.
A Folha de S.Paulo column assessed the first round of Brazil’s 2026 election and named the Liberal Party (PL) the biggest winner. The party is set to hold 121 seats in the lower house and 28 in the Senate, the column said. Those numbers would give the PL and its allies considerable influence over the agenda when the new Congress takes office next year.
The columnist also singled out Cleitinho Azevedo, elected governor of Minas Gerais, describing him as an underestimated politician who won in the first round. The column cited Sergio Moro’s win in Paraná, Tarcísio in São Paulo and Zucco in Rio Grande do Sul as other gains for right-wing candidates in state races. It said the Workers’ Party (PT) held ground in the Northeast, re-electing governors and winning several Senate contests.
The column counted centrist parties among the losers, pointing to smaller congressional blocs and fewer governorships. It also highlighted PSD leader Gilberto Kassab, arguing that failed predictions about several candidates had damaged his standing as a political strategist.
Brazil’s Supreme Court was another loser in the columnist’s assessment because it became a campaign issue for several senators-elect. The column predicted increased pressure on some justices in 2027, particularly Alexandre de Moraes. That is the author’s political forecast, not a report of action already under way.
The columnist named President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the PT as the clearest losers, criticizing the campaign for weak organization and a lack of plans for the country’s future. Even if Lula defeats Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff, the column argued, the party will need to reassess its priorities and strategy for the coming years. Brazil’s electoral authority publishes the official vote count, while the column’s winners-and-losers list is an opinion-based reading of the result.