Berlins Today
Image source, Reuters Image caption, President Lula celebrates his victory Brazil - it's the largest country in the continent of South America. It is home to the Amazon rainforest - the so-called 'lungs of the world', because of the role it plays in absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen . And on Sunday night, left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated right-wing rival Flávio Bolsonaro in a closely fought election. 80-year-old President Lula da Silva won the election in a surprise victory, with just over half of the vote - 51.79%.
He had been trailing behind Mr Bolsonaro after the first round of voting. Official count data suggests there were around four million votes between the two candidates. President Lula's supporters celebrated the win, describing it as a "historic victory".
The president has already served three terms as Brazil's leader - from January 2003 to December 2010. He was elected for a third term in January 2023. This will be his fourth term as president.
Figure caption, Watch: BBC's South America correspondent, Ione Wells, explains how President Lula turned it around to beat Flávio Bolsonaro But Mr Bolsonaro has not agreed with the results of the election, and has not accepted his defeat. Brazil's Supreme Court has confirmed the results of the election. This means it's unlikely the election will be overturned, as Flávio Bolsonaro wants.
Speaking after his win, President Lula thanked the "generosity of Brazilian people", including young people, who he says "went to the streets to defend Brazilian democracy". He said the election was a "loss for negativity, lies". What did the two candidates campaign on?
Image source, Reuters Supporters of President Lula da Silva - often just called Lula - say he has helped lift people out of poverty. They also say he has increased protections for the Amazon rainforest. The Amazon rainforest is massive - it covers six million square kilometres across a number of South American countries.
But a huge part of the rainforest belongs to Brazil. The rainforest is able to capture carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere and convert it into oxygen - making it vitally important in reducing greenhouse gases. President Lula's campaign also said they want to resist more involvement from the United States in Brazil.
Image source, Reuters President Lula's rival - 45-year-old Flávio Bolsonaro - had promised to cut taxes, reduce public spending and crack down on crime. He is the son of right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro - both are close allies of current US president Donald Trump. During Jair Bolsonaro's time as president, deforestation increased.
Deforestation is where forest is removed, usually through cutting down and burning trees and other plants. Jair Bolsonaro thought the land covered by the rainforest should be used to make money for Brazil to improve its economy. Jair Bolsonaro is currently under house arrest following an attempt to overturn the results of the previous election, when he was defeated by President Lula in 2022.
Source: BBC
