00:02European leaders have hailed Brazilian President Lula da Silva's re-election for a fourth term,
00:07defying predictions of a right-wing surge in Latin America's most populous country
00:12and securing a key ally for the EU.
00:15European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
00:17and European Council President António Costa were among the first to congratulate Lula,
00:23with whom they worked closely to secure the EU-Mercoso trade deal.
00:27Democracy and multilateralism have won in Brazil, said von der Leyen on social media.
00:32Costa spoke with Lula on Sunday night to personally congratulate him.
00:36The trade agreement, signed in January with the South American bloc,
00:41comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay,
00:44was recently seen as a rebuke to US President Donald Trump's punitive tariffs.
00:49Brussels had feared that Lula's right-wing rival, Flavio Bolsonaro,
00:53would jeopardize the deal after calling on Brazil to break free of Mercosur's shackles
00:58and pursue independent trade agreements, including with the US.
01:03The EU and Brazil have found common ground on areas that Trump has challenged,
01:07such as free trade, the multilateral order and climate action, with a focus on the Amazon.
01:13Trump has demanded that are elected to the EU,
