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Lula sworn in as Brazil’s president; Bolsonaro skips inauguration [1]
['Gabriela Sá Pessoa', 'Samantha Schmidt']
Date: 2023-01-01
President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil arrived at the Planalto Palace in Brasília on Jan. 1 to be sworn in to his third, non-consecutive term. (Video: Reuters)
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BRASÍLIA — Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the former Brazilian president and stalwart of the Latin American left, was sworn in Sunday to the office he first held two decades ago, taking the helm of a polarized nation with promises to save the Amazon rainforest and preserve democracy. Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine. ArrowRight Lula, 77, won the presidency in October in the closest presidential election in Brazilian history, three years after being freed from prison on corruption charges that were later dropped. After a bitterly fought race against incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, marred by misinformation and disinformation, he will now be expected to unite the nation while keeping campaign pledges to rebuild the economy, tackle police brutality and combat deforestation. Brazil’s fiscal challenges will limit his ability to address poverty and hunger.
During his inauguration speeches, he committed to fighting against economic inequality and racial and gender injustice. While nodding to political reconciliation, Lula also criticized the Bolsonaro administration’s management of the covid-19 pandemic, saying it amounted to “genocide” and should “not stay unpunished.” He said “democracy was the great winner” of a violent election marked by “a hate campaign plotted to embarrass and manipulate the Brazilian electorate.”
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“The public machine was used by an authoritarian project of power,” the president said. “To hatred we will respond with love, to lies we will respond with truth and to terror and violence we will respond with the law and its harshest consequences.”
As he took office, one key person was missing. Bolsonaro flew to Florida on Friday and skipped the traditional handover of the presidential sash to his successor, a symbolic reaffirmation of Brazil’s young democracy. The outgoing leader once again appeared to follow the playbook of his close ally, Donald Trump, who also skipped the 2020 inauguration of his successor, President Biden.
Instead, a group of six people — including a 10-year-old boy and the prominent Indigenous leader and environmentalist Raoni Metuktire — walked beside Lula up the ramp of the Planalto Palace for the climax of the ceremony. A woman named Aline Sousa, a 33-year-old trash collector, placed the sash across Lula as his eyes filled with tears.
Lula’s return to the presidency for a third term leading Latin America’s most populous country restores the left to power in the six largest economies in the region, following recent triumphs over the political right in Colombia and Chile.
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Hundreds of thousands of people descended on Brazil’s capital on New Year’s Day to celebrate the inauguration in a carnivallike party dubbed “Lulapalooza.” But the festivities took place against a tense backdrop, as supporters of Bolsonaro remained camped outside army barracks here and across the country, calling for a military overthrow of the incoming government to keep their candidate in office.
While the fears of violence on inauguration day did not play out, the threats leading up to the ceremony were a stark reminder of the division in the country Lula is now tasked with governing.
In a farewell speech live-streamed Friday, a teary Bolsonaro continued to claim his election loss was unfair, but acknowledged that a new administration would take office Sunday. He condemned violent demonstrations aimed at overturning his loss, calling on his supporters to “show we are different from the other side, that we respect the norms and the constitution.”
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But attacks and threats by Bolsonaro’s supporters in Brasília and across the country led authorities to put security forces on high alert ahead of the inauguration. A group of radical bolsonaristas last month burned buses in the capital and attempted to storm the federal police headquarters after the arrest of a Bolsonaro supporter. Authorities in eight states raided weapons caches and arrested suspects accused of “anti-democratic acts.”
On Dec. 24, police said they had defused a bomb planted near the international airport in Brasília. They arrested a man who they said told investigators he sought to create chaos to draw military intervention before the inauguration. Bolsonaro on Friday rejected Brazilian media reports connecting the bomb suspect to him.
On Sunday morning, law enforcement authorities arrested a man trying to enter the inauguration celebration area carrying a knife and fireworks, they said.
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But Minister of Justice Flávio Dino told journalists that the day was calm, with no serious incidents reported. Security forces shot down a drone that was flying over the inauguration area, but Dino said it is not known whether the drone was a serious threat or simply filming the event.
In a televised address Saturday night, former vice — and acting — president Hamilton Mourão, a retired military officer, made a veiled critique of Bolsonaro and his supporters camped out in the military barracks.
“Leaders that should reassure and unite the nation let their silence or inopportune and deleterious protagonism create a climate of chaos and social disintegration,” Mourão said, without mentioning Bolsonaro, or any leader, by name. “And irresponsibly they let the armed forces of all Brazilians pay the bill, some by inaction, and others by fomenting a so-called coup.”
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Brazilian media reported that some of those in the pro-Bolsonaro camp in Brasília cursed and booed Mourão as he spoke.
The surge in visitors was a boon for local businesses, but some who may have benefited decided to stay home.
Paulo Pereira, a 34-year-old Uber driver, voted for Lula but feared the potential for violence around the inauguration.
“Did you see that they set buses and cars on fire here a few weeks ago?” he asked. “I don’t want to run the risk of losing my car. It is my livelihood.”
“The city,” he said, “is apprehensive.”
Elsewhere in Brasília, the mood was starkly different. Normally sleepy at this time of year, far removed from New Year’s Eve festivities in other parts of the country, the city was being taken over by Lula parties and sambas.
As one flight from São Paulo landed in the capital, passengers wearing the red caps and T-shirts of Lula’s Worker’s Party cheered and chanted: “Olê, olê, olê, olê, Lula, Lula!” At the airport exit, merchants sold Lula pins and flags.
Before the swearing-in ceremony and speech to Congress, Lula and Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin and their wives paraded through the city in an open convertible, a 1952 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith. Later, Lula walked up the ramp of the presidential palace. His group was accompanied by his dog, Resistencia, who was adopted by his wife while Lula was imprisoned and lived with his supporters camped outside the prison for more than 500 days.
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More than 60 foreign representatives and 17 heads of state attended the inauguration of the man widely considered an elder statesman of the Global South. They were to include presidents from across Latin America, the president of Germany and the king of Spain.
Luís Cláudio Lula da Silva was 17 when his father first came to the presidency. Now 37, he told The Washington Post that it’s difficult to compare Sunday’s inauguration to the one he witnessed 20 years ago.
“Brazil was more united” then, he said. “Today, there is a sense of relief to know that we will have four years of peace in Brazil. … Of progress.”
On the lawns of the federal capital, a red sea of Lula supporters cheered for their new president, holding up their hands with the “L” symbol. People of all ages searched for the best spot in front of the Planalto Palace and watched concerts at two stages. Firefighters sprayed water over the crowds to help alleviate the heat of the capital.
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Saulo Silva, a chemist in Brasília, said he has attended every inauguration for Lula and his party since 2003. He returned for another on Sunday, gathering with other supporters heading toward Brasília’s “Esplanade of Ministries.” His arm was covered with three tattoos dedicated to Lula and his Workers’ Party; the most recent reads “Lula President 2022.”
At Lula’s first inauguration, Silva celebrated on the lawn with champagne bottles.
“Today, we have security restrictions,” he said. “Many families camped here in 2003. It was beautiful. Today it is different, but the people are present.”
Schmidt reported from San José, Costa Rica.
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[1] Url:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/01/lula-inauguration-security-brazil/
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