Lula da Silva, 77, sworn in as Brazil’s president as predecessor Jair Bolsonaro flies to US

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office as Brazil’s president on Sunday, delivering a harsh indictment against former conservative leader Jair Bolsonaro and vowing a drastic change of course to rescue a nation plagued by hunger, poverty and racism.

In a speech to congress after officially taking the reins of Latin America’s largest country, Lula said democracy was the real winner of October’s presidential election, when it ousted Bolsonaro in the most tense election in a generation.

Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for the United States on Friday after refusing to concede defeat, rattled the cages of Brazil’s fledgling democracy with unsubstantiated claims of electoral weakness that spawned a violent movement of election deniers.

“Democracy was the big winner in this election, overcoming… the most violent threats to voting freedom and the most abject campaign of lies and hate conspired to manipulate and shame the electorate,” Lula told lawmakers.

Lula previously served as Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2011. His supporters rallied to see him sworn in on Sunday.

Lula, who was behind bars during Bolsonaro’s 2019 inauguration on corruption convictions that were later overturned, issued a veiled threat to his predecessor.

Bolsonaro faces increasing legal risks for his anti-democratic rhetoric and his handling of the pandemic now that he no longer has presidential immunity.

The former president’s trip to Orlando, Florida, insulates him from any immediate legal danger in Brazil. It is unclear where he is staying in the sunny state.

“We have no spirit of revenge against those who tried to subjugate the nation to their personal and ideological designs, but we will guarantee the rule of law,” Lula said, without mentioning his predecessor by name. ‘Those who erred will answer for their errors.’

He also accused the Bolsonaro administration of committing “genocide” by failing to adequately respond to the COVID-19 virus that has killed more than 680,000 Brazilians.

“The responsibilities in this genocide must be investigated and must not go unpunished,” he said.

Lula’s plans for government stood in stark contrast to Bolsonaro’s four years in office, which were characterized by a rollback in environmental protections in the Amazon rainforest, looser gun laws, and weaker protections for indigenous peoples and minorities. .

Lula said he wants to turn Brazil, one of the world’s top food producers, into a green superpower.

He reinforced his commitment to end deforestation in the Amazon, which reached its highest point in 15 years under Bolsonaro, and to repeal Bolsonaro’s more lax gun policies, which led to a sharp increase in gun ownership.

“Brazil does not want more weapons, it wants peace and security for its people,” he said.

Lula was seen standing with his wife Rosangela Silva (right) and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (second from left). Alckmin’s wife, Maria Lucia Ribeiro, was also present (far left)

Spectators reacted with emotion to Lula’s swearing in as president

A woman was seen wiping off her tea while looking at Lula.

Firefighters sprayed water on those attending Lula’s inauguration outside the Planalto presidential palace.

Another follower was seen holding back tears.

Supporters were seen with their hands over their hearts as they listened to the national anthem.

Several signs with Lula’s face were seen in the crowd along with T-shirts and hats bearing his name.

After the oath, Lula drove a Rolls-Royce convertible to the Planalto Palace, where he walked up the ramp with his wife and a diverse group that included Chief Raoni Metuktire of the Kayapó tribe, a young black man, and a disabled man.

Then Aline Sousa, a black garbage collector, presented Lula with the presidential sash, a hugely symbolic act in Brazil that Bolsonaro had repeatedly said he would never do.

Tens of thousands of people who had gathered to celebrate on Brasilia’s esplanade cheered as Lula wiped away tears.

In a subsequent speech, he vowed to unite the polarized country and govern all Brazilians.

“No one is interested in a country on a permanent war footing or a family that lives in disharmony,” Lula said. ‘There are not two Brazils. We are a country, a great nation.’

Lula said he would be fiscally prudent, but made it clear that his main focus would be to end hunger and reduce rampant inequality. She also said that her goal is to advance women’s rights and attack racism and Brazil’s legacy of slavery.

“This will be the hallmark of our government,” he said.

Allies said Lula’s newfound social consciousness was the result of his 580 days in prison.

Lucía was received by the Brazilian indigenous leader Raoni Meturktire (four on the left)

Lula was seen standing next to Metukire known as Chief Raoni.

Lula’s inauguration took place amid heightened security.

Some of Bolsonaro’s supporters claimed that the elections were stolen and called for a military coup to prevent Lula from returning to power in a climate of vandalism and violence.

On Christmas Eve, a Bolsonaro supporter was arrested for making a bomb that was discovered in a truck loaded with aviation fuel at the entrance to the Brasilia airport and confessed that he was seeking to sow chaos to provoke a military intervention.

Bolsonaro has seen his support evaporate among many former allies due to anti-democratic protests.

On Saturday night, then-interim president Hamilton Mourao, who was Bolsonaro’s vice president, criticized his former boss for allowing anti-democratic sentiment to thrive after his defeat at the polls.

“Leaders who were supposed to reassure and unite the nation… allowed silence or inopportune and deleterious leadership to create an atmosphere of chaos and social disintegration,” Mourao said.

Lula (center) was seen standing with his wife (right) and Metikire (left)

Lula’s electoral victory marked a stunning political comeback, winning an unprecedented third term after a hiatus that saw him spend a year and a half behind bars.

In his previous years as president of the Workers’ Party (PT) from 2003 to 2010, the former union leader lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty during a commodity boom that boosted the economy.

Now, he faces the daunting challenge of improving Brazil’s stagnant economy while uniting a country that has become painfully polarized under Bolsonaro.

‘A lot is expected of Lula. She will have the difficult mission of restoring normalcy and predictability in Brazil and, above all, quickly delivering results that improve the quality of life of its inhabitants,” said Creomar de Souza, director of the consultancy Dharma Political Risk in Brasilia.