Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returns today to the Presidency of Brazil, after 12 years, replacing Jair Bolsonaro, in a ceremony in the country’s capital, Brasilia, under strict security measures. The future 39th president of Brazil, 77 years old and born in Pernambuco de Garanhuns, in the northeast of the country, won the second round of the presidential elections against Jair Bolsonaro, on October 30, by a small margin of 50.90%. against 49.10%. and its main mission will be to unite a highly polarized country.
At the ceremony, 65 foreign delegations are expected, including that of Portugal, represented by the president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, but the main absentee must be Jair Bolsonaro, who traveled to the United States on Friday. For the first time in the history of Brazilian democracy after the military dictatorship, in 1985, the outgoing President did not hand over the presidential sash to his successor.
Brasilia is under a strong police apparatus, with movement restrictions and some 15,000 members of the security forces mobilized to counter the threats from Bolsonaro supporters who want to prevent Lula da Silva from taking office and who have staged violent protests in recent weeks.
The festivities begin early in the morning with the “Festival of the Future”, organized by ‘Janja’ Lula da Silva, wife of the President-elect, on the Esplanada dos Ministérios, in Brasilia.
Several Brazilian singers, including Pabllo Vittar, Martinho da Vila, Maria Rita, Juliano Maderada (singer of the hit ‘It’s Time for Jair to Go Away’), Valesca Popozuda, among others, will perform until 03:00 on the 2nd of January. (06:00 in Lisbon).
The more than 300,000 people expected will be able to follow the event on giant screens throughout the city.
At around 12:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. in Lisbon), Lula da Silva and his vice president, Geraldo Alkimin, enter the scene with a parade that begins at the Esplanada dos Ministérios, towards the Palace of the National Congress, seat of the Chamber of the Deputies and the Senate.
There, in the Palace of the National Congress, is where the inauguration takes place, granting the “commitment to maintain, defend and comply with the Constitution, observe the laws, promote the general good of the Brazilian people, uphold the unity, integrity and the independence of Brazil. ”, according to the Brazilian Constitution.
Lula da Silva will address the National Congress, in a session led by the President of the National Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco.
After this solemn session, at 4:20 p.m. (7:20 p.m. in Lisbon), the Brazilian president, Lula da Silva, will receive the presidential sash, which this time will not be delivered by his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
The outgoing head of state, who served a term, left on Friday for the United States, where he is expected to stay at a ‘resort’ in Palm Beach, owned by former US President Donald Trump, so he will miss the inauguration ceremony. this is marked by the moment of the delivery of the presidential sash, by the outgoing President to his successor, a symbolic gesture that has been respected by all presidents since Brazil regained democracy in 1985, after 21 years of dictatorship.
Later, Lula da Silva travels to the Itamaraty Palace, headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to hold a reception with several foreign guests from more than 65 foreign delegations, including heads of state, vice presidents, heads of diplomacy, special envoys and representatives. of international organizations.
The celebrations will be attended by the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, and the former Prime Minister and personal friend of Lula da Silva, José Sócrates.
Also the presidents of Angola, João Lourenço; from Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta; from Cape Verde, José Maria Neves; from Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, and the executive secretary of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), Zacarias da Costa, will be present.
Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party) is the first head of state to serve three terms in recent Brazilian history. A six-time candidate for the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, he was the first labor leader to reach the highest position in the country’s political command, having governed the country from 2003 to 2011.
Source: Observadora
