Having lost the first round of Brazil’s presidential election to far right rival Flávio Bolsonaro, incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spectacularly triumphed in the second. What comes next for Brazil? The Guardian’s Tom Phillips is answering your questions now.Ask a question: log in or sign up here to comment, or email conversations@theguardian.comClara Panozzo asks: How do you think Lula’s win will affect Javier Milei in neighbouring Argentina? And will Lula’s fourth and last term bring about the beginning of the end of the far right turn in the region?Tom: I’ve heard it said that, deep down, Javier Milei wanted Flávio Bolsonaro to lose. Had Bolsonaro become Brazilian president, Brazil – as the region’s biggest economy – would surely have become ground zero for the Trumpian far right in South America. Eduardo Bolsonaro – who is close to the Maga movement – would possibly have become foreign minister or ambassador to the US. And Milei – who has tried to position Buenos Aires as a Maga mecca – would have lost his position as Trump’s go-to man in the region.That said, relations between Brazil and Argentina aren’t going to be easy. Lula clearly despises Milei (I’ve heard he doesn’t even like to utter his name) – and the feelings seem to be mutual. While Lula apparently has a decent relationship with Chile’s hard right president, José Antonio Kast – who has already said he’ll attend Lula’s inauguration in January – Milei is unlikely to be on the guest list.Perhaps, however, Lula’s election will erode the Bolsonaro clan’s supremacy over the Brazilian right. I suspect one lesson conservative politicians might take from the result is that the Bolsonaro name has, for many voters, become a toxic brand. For them, it might, therefore, be wise to shift away from the Bolsonaros and seek a leader without that baggage and that surname. With Flavio Bolsonaro defeated and Jair Bolsonaro, the movement’s leader, now unlikely to emerge from house arrest – in the short term at least – there might be a window of opportunity for a less extremist right wing leader to emerge.That said, the smart money is probably on the pro-Bolsonaro governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, becoming the key leader of Brazil’s right. Some even believe that, like Milei, he was secretly rooting against Flávio Bolsonaro because he harbours presidential ambitions of his own and hopes to challenge whoever Lula’s successor is in the 2030 presidential election. Time will tell. Continue reading...