Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the presidential election on Sunday, defeating incumbent rightwing leader Jair Bolsonaro so that he will be sworn in for a four-year term on Jan 1.
Lula got 50.83% of the vote, compared to 49.17% for Bolsonaro, according to the semi-final official results.
Bolsonaro served as an army captain during Brazil’s military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985, and as a president between 2003 and 2010, but then he was accused of corruption and graft before these charges were dismissed and he was released from prison.