The comeback kid does it again, at 81, but Brazil's most divisive family isn't going quietly.

Brazil just pulled off a political thriller.

Leftist icon Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has clinched re-election, an unprecedented fourth term, beating Senator Flavio Bolsonaro 51.8% to 48.2%, a margin of around 4.4 million votes, according to official results reported by cbinews.tv.

Lula, who turns 81 on Tuesday, did what no one has done since 1989: win the second round after losing the first. Fireworks and vuvuzelas in Rio, a sea of red in São Paulo.

The other side? Stone-faced in Brasília. Flavio Bolsonaro, eldest son of jailed former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving 27 years for attempting a coup after losing to Lula in 2022, said: "It is impossible to recognise the results. I am going to request the annulment of these elections." He called a Supreme Court decision to extend voting by two hours a "dirty trick."

Meet Julio Canelo, 42, a lawyer dancing in Rio. He told AFP it was "the entire democratic spectrum" winning, "people mobilising in the streets and online."

Then Tereza Cristina Ramos, 68, a retiree who voted for Bolsonaro in Rio: "We're in a deep hole. People can barely afford to eat — buying meat is out of the question."

That split is Brazil right now.

Lula heads into 2030 aged 85, one of the world's oldest leaders, facing a Congress dominated by the right.

Abstention fell from 21% in round one to 19% — people turned out because Lula's team convinced them "voting was very important for ensuring democracy."

With this win, Brazil bucked the regional swing right that has seen Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru shift conservative, many backed by Donald Trump.

Why was voting so chaotic?

Lula's camp complained buses were pulled from circulation in several cities, stopping voters from getting to the polls. Flávio's camp complained about heavy rain. The Supreme Electoral Court extended voting by two hours after some stations had already closed, hence the annulment claim.

Add a vicious social media war. Lula's campaign accused Meta, parent of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, of "algorithmic manipulation." Meta denied it, but admitted some Lula ads were mistakenly deactivated. Lula's response after winning: "We are going to have to regulate them."

Lula rose from poverty, became President in 2003, re-elected in 2006, jailed for 18 months over a corruption scandal later annulled, then staged a stunning return in 2022. In this third term, inflation and unemployment fell, and millions were lifted out of hunger, but voters still feel the pinch on the cost of living and crime.

Flavio, 45, ran as the nicer, more jovial Bolsonaro — less ideological, pitching change.

Next steps:

Legal fight — Flavio will file for annulment at the Superior Electoral Court. It rarely succeeds.

Governing — Lula must deal with a hostile Congress and the sovereignty message he hammered: "This country will not accept being anyone's backyard," aimed squarely at Trump's US.

World reaction — Chile's far-right José Antonio Kast and Ecuador's Daniel Noboa — both Trump allies — have congratulated him. Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum posted: "Long live democracy, the people of Brazil won."

Credit: cbinews.tv with agency reports.

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