The Democratas and the Social Liberal Party , which Bolsonaro joined ahead of his 2018 campaign, will have a combined 82 seats in the 513-member lower chamber of Congress, a larger grouping than the left-wing Workers Party with 53.
Lula, who founded the Workers Party and served as president from 2003-2010, holds a commanding double-digit lead in opinion polls over Bolsonaro, whose popularity has plummeted over his handling of the world's second-deadliest COVID-19 outbreak, high unemployment and rising inflation. Bolsonaro quit the PSL in 2019 in a quarrel over control of the party and its growing campaign coffers.
"This party is born with the mission to recover optimism in Brazil and restore the trust of Brazilians in democracy," he said in a convention speech announcing the fusion.