BRASILIA, Jan. 1 (BNA): Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as the country’s president Sunday, taking office for the third time after thwarting far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s re-election bid, the Associated Press (AP) reports.
His return to power marked the culmination of political comeback This excites his supporters and infuriates his opponents A deeply polarized nation.
“Our message to Brazil is one of hope and reconstruction,” Lula said in a speech in the lower house of Congress after signing the document formally inaugurating him as president. The great edifice of rights, sovereignty and development that this nation has built has been systematically demolished in recent years. And to rebuild this edifice, we will direct all our efforts.”
On a Sunday afternoon in Brasilia’s main square, the party was on. Tens of thousands of supporters dressed in red cheered Lula’s Workers’ Party after taking the oath. They also celebrated when the president said he would send a report on Bolsonaro’s presidency to authorities who could investigate the far-right leader based on the findings.
Lula’s presidency is unlikely to be like his two previous terms, as it comes after the narrowest presidential race in more than three decades in Brazil and resisting taking office by some of his opponents, say political analysts.
He defeated the leftist Bolsonaro on the Oct. 30 ballot by less than two percentage points. For months, Bolsonaro sowed doubts about the reliability of electronic voting in Brazil and his loyal supporters were loath to accept a loss.
Many have gathered outside the military barracks since then, questioning the results and pleading with the armed forces to prevent Lula from taking office.
Most of his hardline supporters have resorted to what some authorities and new members of Lula’s administration have called acts of “terrorism” — something not seen in the country since the early 1980s, and which has raised security concerns about the events of Inauguration Day.
“In 2003, the party was very beautiful. There was no bad and violent atmosphere,” said Carlos Melo, professor of political science at Inspire University in São Paulo, referring to the year Lula first took office. “Today, it is an atmosphere of the horror”.
Lula made it his mission to heal the divided nation. But he will have to do so while navigating more difficult economic conditions than he enjoyed in his first two terms, when the global commodities boom proved a windfall for Brazil.
At the time, his administration’s flagship welfare program helped lift tens of millions of poor people in the middle class. Many Brazilians have gone abroad for the first time. He left office with a personal approval rating of 83%.
In the intervening years, Brazil’s economy plunged into two deep recessions—first, during the tenure of his handpicked successor, and then during a pandemic—and ordinary Brazilians suffered greatly.
Lula said his priorities are fighting poverty and investing in education and health. He also said he would Stop illegal deforestation of the Amazon. He sought the support of political moderates to form a broad front and defeat Bolsonaro, Then take some whom to serving in his government.
Claudio Arantes, a 68-year-old retiree, carried an old Lula campaign flag on his way to the square. A lifelong Lula supporter who attended his inauguration in 2003, he agrees, this time looks different.
“At that time, he could talk about the CBF. It is now split and will not heal soon,” said Arantes. “I trust his intelligence to make the Department of National Unity work so that we never have Bolsonaro again.”
Given the country’s political fault lines, said Mauricio Santoro, a professor of political science at Rio de Janeiro State University, it is unlikely that Lula will ever regain his popularity, or even see his popularity rise above 50%.
Moreover, Santoro said, the credibility of Lula and his workers’ party was attacked by a massive corruption investigation. Party officials, including Lula, were imprisoned—until his conviction was overturned on procedural grounds. The Supreme Court then ruled that the judge presiding over the case had colluded with prosecutors to secure a conviction.
Lula and his supporters maintained that he was chained to the rails. Others have been willing to cross over potential wrongdoing as a way to bring down Bolsonaro and put the nation back together.
But Bolsonaro’s supporters refuse to accept someone they consider a criminal back in the highest office. As tensions mounted, a series of events raised fears of violence on Inauguration Day.
On December 12, dozens of people Try to break into a Federal Police building In Brasilia, burning cars and buses in other areas of the city. Then on Christmas Eve, police arrested a 54-year-old man who confessed to making a bomb found in a fuel truck heading to Brasilia airport.
He had camped outside the Brasilia Army headquarters with hundreds of other Bolsonaro supporters since November 12. He told police he was ready for war against communism, and planned the attack with people he met at the protests, according to excerpts of his testimony that have been released. through the local media. The next day, the police found explosive devices and several body armor in a wooded area on the outskirts of the Federal District.
Lula’s incoming Justice Minister Flavio Dino this week called on federal authorities to put an end to “anti-democratic” protests, calling them “incubators of terrorists”.
In response to a request by Lula’s team, the current Minister of Justice authorized the deployment of the National Guard until January 2, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes prohibited people from carrying firearms in Brasília during these days.
“This is the fruit of political polarization and political extremism,” said Nara Pavao, a professor of political science at the Federal University of Pernambuco. Pavao stressed that Bolsonaro, who has mostly disappeared from the political scene since losing his re-election bid, has been slow to disavow recent events.
“His silence is strategic: Bolsonaro needs to keep Bolsonresmo alive,” Pavao said.
Bolsonaro finally condemned the bomb plot in a farewell speech on December 30 on social media, hours before traveling to the United States. His absence on inauguration day will mark a break with tradition and it is still not clear who will replace him with the presidential sash to hand over to Lula at the presidential palace.
Lawyer Eduardo Coutinho will be present. Bought a trip to Brasilia as a Christmas present for himself.
“I wish you were here when Bolsonaro’s plane took off, that’s the only thing that makes me happy like tomorrow’s event,” said Coutinho, 28, after singing Lula’s campaign anthems on the plane. “I don’t usually excel, but we need to allow that and I came here just to do that. Brazil need this to go forward.”
AOQ