Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva began his third term as president of Brazil this Sunday, in a massive ceremony loaded with symbolism, in which he reinforced his commitment to combating the enormous social inequalities that divide the country.
(Also: Brazil: Lula breaks down in tears in his first speech when he spoke of inequality)
The 77-year-old progressive leader, who already governed between 2003 and 2010, returned to the Presidency after defeat the far-right Jair Bolsonaro in very close electionswho has not acknowledged his defeat and left Brazil two days ago, heading to the United States, to avoid having to hand Lula the presidential sash, as required by protocol.
The inauguration had strong international support, with delegations coming from 68 countries, including 20 heads of State or Government, as well as significant popular support, with close to 300,000 people packed the center of Brasilia, in one of the most massive ceremonies in the history of Brazil.
These are the keys to Lula’s return to power.
(We recommend: The embrace of Petro and Lula da Silva in possession of the President of Brazil: video)
amazon
The ceremony began with a minute of silence in memory of former Brazilian star Pelé and Benedict XVI, both of whom died last week at the ages of 82 and 95, respectively.
Dressed in a blue suit and tie, Lula promised in his first speech to “rebuild” the country on the “ruins” of Bolsonaro’s legacy.
“They emptied health resources, dismantled education, culture, science and technology, destroyed environmental protection,” said Lula, who also reaffirmed his commitment to reduce deforestation in the Amazon to zero.
“There is no need to fell any more trees,” said the president, assuring that this will not prevent him from supporting Brazil’s powerful agricultural sector.
Fight inequalities
At the ceremony, Lula gave two speeches and focused both on his firm commitment to combat inequalities of all kinds that divide the population and “hold back” the country’s development, especially the gigantic gap between rich and poor, but also racial and gender inequality.
The president burst into tears when talking about the families who are forced to rummage through the garbage to find food and, from the pulpit of the Planalto presidential palace, he asked the crowd gathered in the Plaza de los Tres Poderes: “help me !”.
(We recommend: Brazil: Lula da Silva assumes a divided country and an economy in trouble)
Lula took advantage of Bolsonaro’s absence to charge with symbolism the formal act of the imposition of the presidential sash, which illustrates the transfer of power.
He received the band from a group of citizens, mostly anonymous, who exemplify the diversity of Brazilian society. A black woman who collects recyclable garbage, a teacher, a young man with cerebral palsy, a black boy from the outskirts of Sao Paulo, a cook, a metal worker and the well-known indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire.
Along with them, and leading his dog Resistencia by the leash, Lula climbed the ramp that leads from the street to the first floor of the Planalto Palace, a gesture that is also highly symbolic, since presidents normally enter the palace alone, walking among two rows of soldiers from the regiment of the Independence Dragoons.
(Also: The challenging year that awaits Latin America: projections for 2023)
Strong criticism of Bolsonaro
A large part of Lula’s interventions were based on criticism of Bolsonaro’s management, whom, without citing him, he accused of having led a “Government of national destruction.”
In particular, he promised that those responsible for the severity of the pandemic in Brazil will not go unpunished, where almost 695,000 people died from covid-19, he stressed, while the country was led by a “denialist government.”
He also described the damage inflicted by the Bolsonaro government on the social fabric of Brazil, which emerged from the October 30 elections polarized and divided as never before. In fact, he chose the phrase “union and reconstruction” as the motto of his new government.
(Also: Bolsonaro says goodbye in tears: “Battles are lost, but not the war”)
“There are not two Brazils. We are a single country, a single people”, said the new president. “I am going to govern for the 215 million Brazilians (…) looking towards our bright future and not through the rear-view mirror of a past of division and intolerance”, he assured.
international support
Another of the promises that Lula made was to “break the diplomatic isolation” that Brazil has experienced in the last four years with a president who only maintained fluid relations with countries governed by the extreme right.
A task that begins on the right foot given the large representation of authorities from 68 countries who attended the investiture, including the King of Spain and the presidents of Portugal, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Honduras.
The president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez, also attended, with whose country Lula announced that he would restore diplomatic relations as of January 1, after Bolsonaro broke them four years ago.
Besides, Former presidents attended with whom Lula maintains ties of friendship, such as the Uruguayan José Mujica and the Bolivian Evo Moraleswho gave Lula a jacket similar to another he gave him years ago and which the Brazilian leader frequently wears.
The electoral victory was tight and he will face a divided country with a fierce opposition. He needs to lead a government of pacification and national unity.
In his inauguration speech, Lula announced that Brazil is going to “retake integration” in Latin America to have “an active and proud dialogue” with the other regions of the world.
“We will resume integration from Mercosur, with the revitalization of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and other sovereign bodies” that exist in Latin America, he declared before Parliament.
He also guaranteed that his government will strengthen cooperation with the BRICS forum, which Brazil integrates together with Russia, India, South Africa and China, Brazil’s main trading partner.
China had cold relations with the Bolsonaro Executive and this Sunday sent a high-level delegation to the Brazilian capital, headed by Vice President Wang Qishan.
This Monday,
immediate challenges
The leftist president will have immediate challenges greater than those he has faced in his other two presidencies, which left him with an unusual popularity rating of 87 percent. Some 30 million Brazilians are starving and the economy is barely able to recover after the pandemic hit.
“In the first 100 days you will have to show what direction the government will take. The electoral victory was tight and he will face a divided country with a fierce opposition. He needs to lead a government of pacification and national unity,” explained Leandro Consentino, a political scientist at the Insper institute in São Paulo.
The ex-unionist must gain “credibility” on the management of public accounts in the face of a delicate fiscal situation, despite the fact that his campaign promises require an increase in spending to finance social programs, according to Consentino.
WILLIAM MORENO HERNANDEZ
International Writing
*With information from EFE and AFP
#Lula #Silva #promises #mark #return #power #Brazil