Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be sworn in as president of Brazil for a historic third term on Sunday.
The inauguration in Brasília, exactly two decades after the veteran politician first assumed office, is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of people for a festival-style celebration with live music.
Lula, as he is universally known, won the most tightly fought election since democracy was restored to the South American nation in the 1980s, in a remarkable political comeback just three years after being released from prison. But the 77-year-old former metalworker faces a host of difficulties as he seeks to honour campaign pledges that include ending hunger and destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
There is tight security for the ceremony amid fears that Bolsonaro supporters will try to disrupt it. Security measures were tightened after an alleged bomb plot by a supporter of outgoing leader Jair Bolsonaro.
Mr Bolsonaro himself will not attend, having left Brazil on Friday.
The populist incumbent reportedly flew to the US state of Florida after delivering a teary farewell to supporters.
"We have a great future ahead," he said in a social media video. "Battles are lost, but we will not lose the war."
Mr Bolsonaro has repeatedly said he did not wish to attend the inauguration of his successor, where he would be expected to hand over the presidential sash in a sign of a stable transfer of power.
Read more at the BBC
