‘Lula’ da Silva is sworn in as Brazil’s president

The scene was repeated for the third time. Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva took office this Sunday, January 1, as president of Brazil. With 77 years, the leftist receives a polarized country that he, he has assured, he will transform during the next four years.

‘Lula’ was received this Sunday in Parliament. There he took the constitutional oath in front of all the national political power and representatives of fifty countries.

The now president of Brazil addressed the congressmen and the people: “This is the third time that I appear before this Parliament to thank the Brazilian people,” began ‘Lula’.

The leftist affirmed that “democracy triumphed” in the presidential elections. Some that, according to what he said, came after a huge campaign of smears and lies by his rival, Jair Bolsonaro, and his followers.

“Despite everything, the decision of the polls prevailed thanks to an electoral system internationally recognized for its effectiveness,” he said.

The fight against hunger, one of the pillars

The former union leader assured that he will have to return to one of his main life commitments: fight so that every Brazilian has three meals a day. He pointed out that the return of famine in the country is “a sign of the devastation of Brazil.”

For this, the leftist referred to one of his most important programs, ‘Bolsa Familia’. ‘Lula’ assured that it will be “broader and fairer” and that it will be implemented to rescue a good part of Brazil from hunger and poverty.

“Our first actions are aimed at rescuing 33 million people from hunger and rescuing more than 100 million Brazilian men and women from poverty, who bore the heaviest burden of the project of national destruction that is closing today,” declared ‘Lula’ .

A commitment to democracy

A good part of ‘Lula’s’ speech was dedicated to celebrating the country’s democracy and also to his promise to fight for it during his term.

“If we are here it is thanks to the political awareness of Brazilian society,” he said.

He also referred to the “broad front” that brought him to power. He assured that he understood that he must govern in accordance with this, which was formed to “fight against authoritarianism.”

“We have no spirit of revenge against those who wanted to destroy the nation,” he said.

Brazil as an economic and environmental power

The president promised a permanent rise in the minimum wage and an end to the “disastrous rise in the unemployment ranks.”

Later, he pointed out that “Brazil is too big to give up being a productive nation.” And he added that the country must be at the forefront of the global economy.

On the other hand, he referred to one of his biggest goals: fighting for the environment. “Brazil has great potential to become a global environmental benchmark”he assured. For this, the goal of achieving zero deforestation in the Amazon was set.

We cannot admit that (the Amazon) is a lawless land, we are not going to tolerate the degradation of the environment that has done so much harm to our country,” he said.

In his speech he did not stop referring to several of the most vulnerable communities in the country. He promised to settle debts with indigenous communities, fight against racism and work for the elimination of violence against women.

Criticism of Bolsonarism

The leftist outlined a paradigm shift with respect to the policies against weapons that Bolsonarismo had adopted. “We are reforming the decrees on crime and public security. Brazil does not want weapons for the people, it wants security and education so that the country can be fairer,” he said.

Regarding the far-right mandate that ended with his possession, ‘Lula’ also strongly criticized Bolsonaro’s actions on the Covid-19 emergency. He classified it as adopting a “denier” and “criminal” attitude.

Brazil was especially hit by the disease, almost 695,000 people died in the country. “In no other country, the number of fatalities was so high proportionally to the population,” he explained.

Some figures that led him to affirm that the outgoing government’s handling of the pandemic was a “genocide”. Therefore, according to what he said, those responsible cannot go unpunished.

The return of the country to the international scene

Secondly, ‘Lula’ said that he will seek to return Brazil to the international scene. “Our leadership will resume integration from Mercosur, with the revitalization of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and other sovereign bodies,” he assured.

He also referred to his quest to rebuild ties with the United States and Europe, as well as with Asian and African countries.

In this sense, he promised to break with “the isolation to which Brazil has been subjected in recent years.”

‘Lula’ ended his speech by assuring: “My most important mission will be to honor the trust received and respond to the people of Brazil who have never lost the ability to fight against challenges.”

A symbolic tour and security incidents

Some time before, his tour of the venue was accompanied by thousands of supporters who watched the leftist in a Rolls Royce Silver Wraith accompanied by his wife, Rosângela ‘Janja’ da Silva and his vice president, the centrist Geraldo Alckmin.

The open-top vehicle sent a message of closeness to ‘Lula’ and put an end to speculation that the new president would travel in an armored and closed car. This is due to threats from extremist Bolsonarist sympathizers.

The country’s Police assured that they arrested a man with a knife who was trying to enter the Brasilia esplanade.

“The man came from Rio de Janeiro to participate in the event and during a search, fireworks and a knife were found,” the agency said in a statement.

News in development…