President says he has fought “with rats and cockroaches” in floods and extols solidarity between Brazilians and Gauchos
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) asked for 1 minute of silence in respect for the victims of the floods in Rio Grande do Sul as he began his speech at the inauguration of a hospital in Teixeira de Freitas (BA) this Friday (10.May. 2024).
“The conversation I wanted to start having with you is, firstly, to ask us to observe 1 minute of silence in solidarity with the people who lost family members in the floods in Rio Grande do Sul, secondly, to the people who are missing, and in third place, to the thousands and thousands of gauchos who are out of their homes due to an environmental catastrophe”, he said.
The president participated in the inauguration of the Costa das Baleias State Hospital and the new building of the Pedagogical Center on the Paulo Freire campus of UFSB (Federal University of Southern Bahia).
In his speech, Lula said that he talks about floods with knowledge of the facts because he has already experienced the problem countless times.
“When I talk about floods, I don’t talk because I saw it on television, but because I’ve had dozens of floods in my life. I’ve woken up many times in the early hours of the morning fighting with rats, cockroaches, and feces floating in the house. Trying to get my mother out because the stove had already been lost, the refrigerator had already been lost, television, mattress, Formica table in the kitchen. And I know what it’s like to have one hand in front of me and one behind waiting for a favor from the public authorities and we get nothing”, he said.
According to the most recent official figures, the floods left 126 dead, 141 missing and 756 injured. Around 2 million people were affected, 339,000 of whom had to leave their homes and 71,409 were housed in shelters.
The president also thanked the people of Bahia and the Northeast for their donations to Rio Grande do Sul. “I have never seen so much solidarity, so much compassion as I am seeing now from the Brazilian people helping with body and soul”, he said.
At the end of his speech, Lula said that he will spend the weekend thinking about the State and that he will make new announcements about aid to the people of Rio Grande do Sul on Mondays and Tuesdays. She also promised to return to the cities that were destroyed by the floods. “I’m going to look my brothers in the face and say: I will take care of you”, he said.
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