How elderly ‘unsung heroes’ powered Lula’s historic fightback in Brazil

Older voters praised for helping tip balance in leftwing president’s favour against far-right Flávio Bolsonaro in runoff

It had been nearly a decade since Celia de Oliveira Soares last voted, and months since the 101-year-old great-grandmother last left her home.

But on 25 October, when Brazil held what many considered its most important presidential election in decades, relatives helped Soares into a wheelchair and drove her to a nearby school to make sure the far-right candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, did not prevail.