In the voting, immigrants were chosen as the national personality, while the international figure spotlight was on the Palestinian people, amid news of Israel’s offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in thousands of deaths.
In the Lusophone world, Brazil dominated the choices of Lusa journalists. The most voted event was the conviction of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup against Lula da Silva’s election in 2023.
Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres, who received a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Walter Sales’s film “Ainda Estou Aqui,” was considered the personality of the year in the Lusophone world.
The choices were made by 114 journalists – with 69 voting for the power outage, followed by 34 for the Elevador da Glória accident and 11 for the summer wildfires.
Immigrants, central to media and politics with an increase in xenophobic discourse, gathered 58 votes, while pregnant women, in the news for giving birth in ambulances and even in public places, received 32 votes.
André Ventura, leader of Chega and a key figure in the rise of the radical right, received 16 votes, and comedian Joana Marques, acquitted in a case involving the singers Anjos and a landmark for freedom of expression, garnered seven votes.
As for international figures, the Palestinian people led the vote (53), followed by Donald Trump, controversially returning to the U.S. presidency (41), and Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor of New York City, an immigrant’s son and left-wing politician.
In international events, the Gaza War, the devastation, and the humanitarian crisis since 2024 was chosen by 90 journalists.
In second place, with 15 votes, was the controversial U.S. tariff policy, which has caused geopolitical disruption in many regions and a slowdown in global growth, followed by climate change with nine votes.
In the Lusophone world, the event chosen with 62 votes was the conviction of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, in preventive detention since last week.
The 50th anniversaries of independence, marked in 2025, in four Portuguese-speaking African countries and Timor-Leste, received 33 votes, and the police operation in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas in Brazil, resulting in over 130 deaths, obtained 19 votes.
The list of topics was the result of a debate between the Information Directorate and the agency’s editors. Voting, via email, took place between November 12 and 27.
Since 2016, journalists have been choosing the national, international, and Lusophone events and figures of the year.
Lusa will publish the texts about the 2025 events and personalities on December 6.
