What two surprising election results tell us about the world

It’s been a week of dramatic electoral upsets that show right-wing waves moving across Latin America and Europe can be stopped.

Lula’s dramatic comeback to win Sunday’s presidential election in Brazil has put a halt to the right-wing advance across Latin America. At the same time in Serbia, what started as a student protest against corruption became a political force capable of toppling Aleksandar Vucic in a parliamentary election.

Both wins offer lessons to progressive movements around the world, changing a growing narrative that a tilt to the right is inevitable.

But what are those lessons? How did Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva come from behind in the first round of Brazil’s elections to put paid to Flávio Bolsonaro’s ambitions and how did student protesters in Serbia manage in a few years to turn angry street protests into a cool and effective political machine capable of toppling the long-time incumbent?

Denis Staunton, author of The Irish Times Global Briefing newsletter, explains.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon.