Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva won the election by a close margin of 1.8%|Alexander Bonilla|CC BY 2.0

Brazil’s incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro authorized his chief of staff to begin the transition process with representatives of leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, more than 44 hours after losing the election.

In his first remarks since the results, Bolsonaro did not address the election, which he lost by a close margin of 1.8%, but mentioned that he would follow the rules of the nation's constitutions.

The Amazon
President-elect Lula da Silva has made the Amazon a priority and vowed to protect the rainforest and its diverse species and end deforestation in his victory speech.

Under Lula’s leadership, Brazil saw a decrease in deforestation activities in the Amazon by 43.7% from 2003 to 2006. The numbers were further reduced by 52.3% during his second term through 2010.

Deforestation levels in Bolsonaro's time soared by 72%, from 2019 to 2021.