Leftwinger promises environmental protections and social progress as he’s sworn in as president

A tearful Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has vowed to haul Brazil out of Jair Bolsonaro’s era of “devastation” and kickstart a new phase of reconciliation, environmental preservation and social justice after being sworn in as president.

Fighting back tears as he addressed tens of thousands of supporters who had packed the plaza outside the presidential palace in Brasília, Lula declared the end of “one of the worst periods in Brazilian history” under the former far-right president.

The return of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has led to an outpouring of optimism in the South American country – and relief at the downfall of Jair Bolsonaro

They are billing it as Lulapalooza – a momentous explosion of Brazilian politics and dance – and Mayse Freitas wouldn’t miss it for the world.

“I think it’s going to be the greatest show on earth … It’ll be the happiest day of my life,” said the social activist from the Complexo do Alemão, one of Rio’s largest favelas, as she geared up for the festivities.

President-elect says transition team have found ‘simplest things not being done’ as result of Bolsonaro mismanagement

Public services in Brazil face a “very real threat of collapse” as a result of the mismanagement by the outgoing far-right government, and the incoming administration will have a “herculean task” in rebuilding damaged institutions, particularly in the fields of health, education and the environment, the country’s president-elect has said.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat the far-right incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, in a tightly fought election in October and is due to take power on 1 January.

Cars and buses torched after violence erupts following ratification of Lula’s election victory

Fanatical supporters of Brazil’s outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro, have torched cars and buses and tried to storm the federal police headquarters in the country’s capital in what one commentator called a botched attempt to spark a January 6-style turmoil.

The violence erupted on Monday evening after the leftwing politician who defeated Bolsonaro in October’s historic election – former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – had his victory officially ratified by Brazil’s electoral court.

Court has ratified results of run-off against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva but incumbent claims audit found signs of ‘malfunction’ in some voting machines

Jair Bolsonaro has challenged the Brazilian presidential election he lost last month to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, arguing votes from some machines should be “invalidated”.

Bolsonaro’s claim seems unlikely to get far, as Lula’s victory has been ratified by the superior electoral court and acknowledged by Brazil’s leading politicians and international allies. It could however fuel a small but committed protest movement that has so far refused to accept the result.

Protesters baselessly alleging electoral fraud and refusing to accept defeat to Lula have been blocking roads since election

Brazilian football ultras keen to reach away games have been hailed as democratic heroes after breaking through road blockades set up by far-right supporters of president Jair Bolsonaro, who refuse to accept his defeat to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s tightly contested presidential election.

Pro-Bolsonaro demonstrators baselessly alleging electoral fraud have been blocking roads and highways across the country since Sunday night, causing chaos, cancelled flights and fears of fuel shortages. On Tuesday morning, Brazil’s supreme court ruled that the federal highway police must immediately take measures to clear the roads. Videos showed that some police officers were encouraging the protests.

Former president’s chief of staff indicates his administration is ready to begin transition process

• Brazil election: how Lula won the runoff against Bolsonaro

Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has broken his almost two-day silence over his defeat in Sunday’s presidential election – but refused to congratulate or recognize the victory of his rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

After Bolsonaro had delivered his message, however, his chief of staff indicated that his administration would not contest the election result.

Brazil’s far-right president has yet to concede after receiving 58.2m votes to Lula’s 60.3m

Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has fallen silent after his chastening election defeat to his leftist rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

A stream of world leaders have stepped forward to recognize Lula’s stunning political comeback, including the US president, Joe Biden, the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, and China’s Communist party chief, Xi Jinping.

In today’s newsletter: Celebrations erupted in Brazil last night after Lula’s triumph over far-right incumbent Bolsonaro. What could the next four years look like – and will Bolsonaro concede defeat peacefully?

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After an election period marred by disinformation and threats of violence, Brazil’s leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – known as Lula – narrowly defeated far right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by two percentage points in an astonishing political comeback. In a parallel universe, Lula’s once unthinkable, political revival – from the top of Brazilian politics, to prison and back to the presidency – would be the story of the hour. Instead all eyes are elsewhere.

Police | Met police chief, Sir Mark Rowley, has said that the gang violence matrix, a controversial Metropolitan police list of alleged gang members that mainly targeted black men, needs to be “radically reformed”. Amnesty International branded the list part of a “racialised war” on gangs. Rowley has already removed more than 1,000 young men from the list.

South Korea | President Yoon Suk-yeo has declared a state of national mourning and ordered an investigation after a fatal crowd crush during Halloween celebrations. More than 150 people were killed after people surged through a narrow alleyway in a busy area of Seoul.

Cop27 | Rishi Sunak’s decision not to attend UN climate talks in Egypt this week has prompted an outpouring of anger from countries around the world. “It seems as if they are washing their hands of leadership,” said Carlos Fuller, Belize’s ambassador to the UN.

NHS | The NHS has not received any of the funding from Thérèse Coffey’s £500m emergency fund. The money was supposed to help get thousands of medically fit patients out of hospital into their own home or a care home to prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed in the winter.

National security | UK government ministers risk creating “wild west” conditions in matters of national security through the increased use of personal email and phones to conduct confidential business, intelligence experts and former officials have warned.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former leftist president, has reclaimed the leadership and vowed to reunify his country

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• Profile: the rise and fall and rise again of Lula

Brazil’s former leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has sealed an astonishing political comeback, beating the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in one of the most significant and bruising elections in the country’s history.

With 99.97% of votes counted, Silva, a former factory worker who became Brazil’s first working-class president exactly 20 years ago, had secured 50.9% of the vote. Bolsonaro, a firebrand who was elected in 2018, received 49.10%.

The Superior Electoral Court of Brazil has announced that Lula is elected president, after a nailbiting count that went to the wire. Find out how every state voted

• Latest reaction and analysis

Brazil’s president is elected directly by the people; any candidate with more than 50% of the vote wins, and there is no role in the election for parliament and no electoral college.