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Born into a poor family in 1945, Lula sold peanuts as a child, only learning to read aged 10.

He became a metal worker in his teens, losing a finger in an industrial accident in the 1960s.

His political journey started in the trade union movement, where he was elected head of Metalworkers' Union in 1975. Five years later, he founded the Workers' Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores or PT) - Brazil's first major socialist party.

It took him more than two decades to win the presidency, which he first did in 2002.

Lula made social equality a central plank of his early premiership, funnelling billions into grant programmes like the Bolsa Familia.

He was jailed in 2018 following a huge bribery scandal, dubbed Operation Car Wash, and served more than 18 months.

His convictions were overturned by a Supreme Court Judge in 2021, allowing him to run for and secure a third term as president in 2022.

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Social media has played a significant role in Brazil's presidential elections.

On Tuesday, Meta's oversight board, external said it had found "enforcement failures" in the moderation of content relating to Brazil's presidential election.

The statement followed allegations by President Lula's campaign team, which says the company – which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – had favoured Bolsonaro.

The oversight board found Meta had excessively used anti-fraud policies against Lula's ad accounts. The failure, the body says, "should have been escalated to an internal team of expert reviewers".

Meta has rejected claims of political bias.

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Right-wing senator-elect Marcel Van Hattem is a close ally of Flávio Bolsonaro and was in the room with him when the results were declared.

"He was upset, but I think he was much more than upset," Hattem tells BBC World Service's Newsday programme.

He says Bolsonaro had a sense of "indignation" about the Supreme Court's decision to extend voting by two hours. As a reminder, both sides requested extensions to voting hours for different reasons – read more here.

Hattem says he would like to see the whole election run again, and pushed back on the idea that this could be undemocratic or motivated by unhappiness with the result.

Electoral law experts contacted by BBC News Brasil say the chances of the election being annulled are remote.

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In the first round of voting - on 4 October - President Lula came in second place with 45%, behind Flávio Bolsonaro, who received 47%.

The 2.2 million vote difference in favour of Bolsonaro gave way to a 4.4 million vote advantage for Lula in the second round.

These were some of the key shifts behind Lula's victory:

• The state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil's south-east, flipped from Bolsonaro to Lula from the first to the second round of voting – it was the only state to do so
• In north-east Brazil, Lula expanded his percentage in all nine states, with Bahia showing the largest increase
• Between the two rounds of voting, Lula also went from second place to first place in 211 municipalities including in two state capitals: Rio de Janeiro and Macapá

Image source, EPA/ Shutterstock

World leaders are still sharing their reactions to Lula’s win, here’s the latest we’ve seen:

• President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari posted on X saying he was confident that the "longstanding friendly relations" between Pakistan and Brazil would grow
• India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi says he looks forward to "working closely" with Lula, adding the leaders will "advance the shared priorities of the Global South and work towards a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable world"
• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says the relationship between his country and Brazil has already "flourished under our partnership", and he adds that he hopes to create new trade opportunities and protect the environment
• South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa says Lula's victory is "a victory for the global south and progressive forces throughout the world"
• Ecuador President Daniel Noboa Azin also congratulates Lula, saying the region has "common enemies, shared challenges, and much to gain when we work together"

You can read more about how other Latin American leaders have reacted to the victory here.

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While Lula's supporters are ecstatic about his victory, the result shows that the country remains deeply divided, with more than 48% of voters choosing Bolsonaro.

In addition to the challenge of uniting such a deeply polarised country, Lula will have to govern alongside the most right-wing Congress in Brazil's democratic era.

Before the election, Lula promised to bridge the gap between Brazil's opposing political poles with "a new way of governing", adding in a WhatsApp livestream before the election that "this country will never be the same again".

While he provided little detail as to what the new way of governing would entail, he insisted he would "remain firm in the fight for a more just country, with opportunities for all and policies directed at the needs of the population".

With a largely hostile Congress, this fight just may prove much harder for the veteran leader - who will be 85 by the end of his fourth term - than in his three previous terms in office.

• Read more about the challenges Lula faces in our news story

As we have been reporting, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva earlier addressed his supporters in São Paulo and thousands could be seen cheering and celebrating in the streets.

Meanwhile, it was a different story for supporters of Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of the former president Jair - who has so far refused to recognise Lula's victory.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA/ Shutterstock

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Leaders across Europe have been waking up to the news of Lula’s victory and sharing their reactions.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen congratulates President Lula, saying that "democracy and multilateralism have won in Brazil".

She says Europe's partnership with Brazil is thriving and the countries will work for open trade, strong climate ambitions and a "rules-based order".

French President Emmanuel Macron says France and Brazil have "much to build together" and should work "in service of a more just world".

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calls it a "great victory," saying "the comeback of global progressivism has just begun", adding: "What has happened in Brazil will happen in Spain”.

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

Image source, Reuters

Satellite data from Brazil’s space agency, INPE, which has tracked Amazon clear-cutting since 1988, shows 3,335 km² (1,287 square miles) cleared in the year to July, 42% less than the year before.

It is a dramatic turnaround.

Lula’s predecessor was Jair Bolsonaro, father of Flávio, his opponent in Sunday’s runoff.

Bolsonaro pushed to open the Amazon to development, weakened the Ibama environmental agency and fired INPE’s director after disputing its data.

Clearing during his administration totalled nearly 45,600 km², against about 24,600 km² under Lula, according to INPE data. Environmental groups credit restored enforcement for much of the decline.

Flávio Bolsonaro had pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2029 but offered little detail on how he would achieve it.

The decline slows the loss but does not stop it.

Since satellite monitoring began in 1988, an area of Amazon rainforest approaching the size of Spain has been cleared.

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

Speaking from outside his home in Brasília after the election result was called, opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, who had won the first round, refused to recognise Lula's victory in the run-off vote.

He told his assembled supporters that the result was "impossible" and "inexplicable".

Bolsonaro is calling for an annulment of the election, saying that "the rules of the game were changed" - referring to the decision of the Supreme Court to extend voting by two hours.

Before the result was declared, both sides had asked for extensions to voting hours, for different reasons.

Electoral law experts contacted by BBC News Brasil say the chances of the election being annulled are remote given, for example, Lula's margin of victory by 4.4 million votes.

Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America editor

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Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvahas been president three times already.

When he started his third term in office in 2023, he vowed it would be his last, and yet his party endorsed him as their candidate again this year, even though he will turn 81 two days after the election.

Even backers of his party will acknowledge that he achieved more in his first two terms – from January 2003 to December 2010 – than in this most recent four years in office.

He was widely praised for lifting millions out of poverty with the help of a cash-transfer programme called Bolsa Família and left office on 1 January 2011 with record approval ratings of over 80%.

But his political career suffered serious setbacks in the following years – he was convicted of corruption and sent to jail for more than 18 months.

Those convictions were annulled in 2021, leaving Lula free to run for the presidency in the 2022 election, in which he beat Jair Bolsonaro.

There is no doubt he remains a towering figure in the left. But while his supporters described him ahead of the 2022 election as the "saviour of the Amazon", praising his commitment to protecting the rainforest, some environmentalists have been critical of some of his recent actions.

His support for exploratory oil drilling in offshore waters near the mouth of the Amazon in particular has drawn criticism.

Lula insists that he remains committed to eventually phasing out fossil fuels and argues that oil revenues are key to financing Brazil's transition to clean energy.

Mimi Swaby
Global affairs reporter

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We have yet to hear Donald Trump's reaction to the election result. There was no secret that Senator Flávio Bolsonaro had US backing, following in the footsteps of his father Jair Bolsonaro.

Lula defeating Flávio Bolsonaro keeps Latin America's biggest economy at odds with Washington.

Flávio Bolsonaro campaigned on an iron fist tackling crime. It's not a new strategy. It's part of a playbook we have seen across Latin America which has voted in a string of right-wing leaders on this very promise. All strong allies of Donald Trump.

One of Bolsonaro's pledges if he won was that Brazil would join the Shield of the Americas, a US-led security initiative against so called "narco-terrorism". A term echoed by Bolsonaro junior on the campaign trail.

Flávio Bolsonaro met with Trump in May at the ​White House to shore up support as scandal ‌dented his popularity with voters.

And Washington has played a heavy hand in the Brazilian politics. Its policies included designating Brazilian gangs as terrorist groups and ​imposing sanctions against the Brazilian Supreme Court Justice who spearheaded the investigation into Jair Bolsonaro.

Former right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence in connection with a coup attempt after his re-election loss in 2022.

Branca Lessa de Sa
Reporting from Brasília

During his victory speech in São Paulo, Lula thanked a congressman named André Janones for his "exponential" role in the campaign. But who is Janones?

The 42-year-old politician from Minas Gerais is the founder of a viral Whatsapp channel named "Lula's Army", and has led a highly organised and effective online campaign in support of the president.

The Whatsapp channel became one of the Lula campaign's main digital mobilisation tools in the last few weeks, aiming to circulate content favourable to the president.

In regular videos and messages, Janones would urge participants – who he referred to as "soldiers" – to share posts and invite new members. Shortly before the runoff this Sunday, the channel surpassed ten million followers.

In his speech in São Paulo, Lula said that this election had taught him many lessons; among them, the power of social media.

"I want to tell you all that we will allow people to participate more in our decision-making, and that digital communication will play a big role in my new government," he said.

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us, here's a recap of how the run-off vote in Brazil's presidential election unfolded:

• Brazil's incumbent left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated his right-wing rival Flávio Bolsonaro, overturning a defeat in the first round of voting
• According to Brazil's Superior Electoral Court, Lula secured 51.79% of the votes, compared with Bolsonaro's 48.21% - a difference of more than 4 million votes
• Lula's victory is the first time since Brazil's return to democracy in 1988 that a candidate who lost the first round has gone on to win the presidency
• Lula thanked his supporters who he said had "defended Brazilian democracy" - he also said the result showed Brazil "will not accept being anyone's backyard"
• Bolsonaro said the result was "inexplicable" and has called for it to be annulled - though Brazil's Supreme Court president has confirmed the result and analysts tell the BBC the chances of an annulment are remote
• Voting was extended by two hours after a request from both campaigns. Lula's team alleged voter suppression due to a shortage of buses in several cities and Bolsonaro's team raised concerns about poor weather conditions in the south of the country

Vinícius de S. Mendes
BBC News Brasil, in São Paulo

Image source, Reuters

Flávio Bolsonaro has called for the election result to be annulled, but the chances of this happening are remote, according to electoral law experts contacted by BBC News Brasil.

Fernando Neisser, en electoral law expert at the Institute of Lawyers of São Paulo (Iasp), said that it would be "difficult from a legal standpoint" and would depend on the "narrative" his lawyers put forward.

He added that since the margin of votes between the two candidates was relatively large - with Lula getting 4.4 million votes more than Bolsonaro - it seemed unlikely there would be an annulment.

An added complication is that the dates of the presidential election in Brazil are fixed and determined by the constitution, says electoral law expert Alberto Rollo.

"We can't change the constitution. We can't say say 'it didn't count, we'll do it next week, or on 15 November, or 30 November'," he told BBC News Brasil.

Several of the experts consulted said that fact that the Bolsonaro camp had officially requested that voting be extended would make it hard for them to now use the extension as grounds for an annulment.

Here's what you need to know about President Lula da Silva, the winner of Brazil's presidential election, and his challenger, Flávio Bolsonaro:

Image source, Reuters

• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly referred to as just Lula, is a member of the left-wing Worker's Party and a former metal worker

• He has won a total of four non-consecutive presidential elections, serving two terms between January 2003 to December 2010, and again from January 2023
• In his victory speech, he praised younger voters who he says took to the streets to "defend democracy"
• During the last election campaign in 2022 his supporters described him as the "saviour of the Amazon", praising his commitment to protecting the rainforest
• However more recently some environmentalists have criticised his stance on exploratory oil drilling, external near the mouth of the Amazon

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

• Flávio Bolsonaro has served as senator for Rio de Janeiro since 2019 and is a member of the right-wing Liberal Party
• He is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro who is currently under house arrest for plotting a coup in response to losing the last election to Lula
• He has followed in his father’s footsteps by refusing to recognise his election defeat, calling the result “impossible” and saying it should be annulled
• The younger Bolsonaro is seen as a less confrontational figure than his father, but broadly in line with his agenda
• The 45-year-old has advocated a tough-on-crime stance, calling for longer prison sentences and more relaxed gun laws

Ione Wells
Reporting from Brasília

Image source, Reuters

While Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign have complained about how this result played out, it is worth a reminder that both campaigns complained about disruption to voting and requested that polling was extended.

President Lula’s campaign had raised the issue of public transport issues in key cities like Salvador and Sao Paulo, while Senator Bolsonaro’s campaign had said bad weather was affecting turnout in several states.

The problem was highlighted earlier in the day, but initially the president of the Supreme Electoral Court did not take action. As a result, the decision to extend voting then came just after polls were meant to close - meaning some polling stations had already shut and were then not able to re-open.

The Supreme Court judge Cristiano Zanin, who is a former lawyer for President Lula, ordered the extension in the absence of a decision by the court’s president.

The court president Kassio Nunes Marques, who was appointed by Jair Bolsonaro, later confirmed the victory of President Lula and affirmed that the extension of polling hours didn’t cause any problems for the count or electoral process.

Incumbent Brazilian President Lula pulled off a remarkable turnaround after placing behind his challenger Flavio Bolsonaro in the first round of the election.

BBC correspondent Ione Wells is in Brasília to explain how he did it.

Thousands of Lula's supporters have spilled out onto the streets of São Paulo, celebrating his win - here are the latest pictures from the scene.

Image source, Reuters

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Image source, REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

Lula has been addressing his supporters in São Paulo and thanking them for their support, which he said made it possible for him to recover from his defeat in the first round of the election to go on to win in the run-off.

He mentioned young voters, women and teachers as having contributed to his victory.

He also praised workers who had fought for a shorter working week. A constitutional amendment guaranteeing employees two days off a week without a cut in salary was approved by Congress less than two weeks before the run-off and is thought to have boosted support for Lula, who had backed it.

Then, Lula asked for the national anthem to be played.

"Long live democracy," he said as the anthem finished, adding that "this, my fourth term, will be the best of any president in the history of this country".

"It will be the one in which I listen most to the Brazilian people."