Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in this Sunday as the 39th President of the Republic of Brazil at the culmination of an inauguration ceremony that marks the beginning of his third term as head of the country with a message of “hope and reconstruction in the face of “devastation” that, he assures, his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, has left behind.
“Our message to Brazil is one of hope and reconstruction”, Lula proclaimed during the ceremony, in a speech where he lamented that “the great edifice of rights, sovereignty and development that this Nation built has been systematically demolished in recent years”. .
“It is to the reconstruction of this building that we are going to direct all our efforts,” Lula assured after signing with a pen that he received in 1989 from an attendee at a rally in the state of Piauí, with which he wanted to remember the residents of this population.
The president thanked the “political conscience of Brazilian society” and the “democratic front” formed against the “violent threats to freedom of vote” during the elections for his victory. “Democracy has been the big winner,” he said.
Lula recalled his first message when he first came to power in 2003, the validity of which he has been forced to maintain after Bolsonaro’s tenure. “I said that the mission of my life would be fulfilled when every Brazilian could eat three meals a day. Having to repeat this commitment today is the most serious symptom of the devastation that has been imposed on the country in recent years,” he lamented.
Along with Lula, Gerardo Alckmin was also sworn in as Vice President of the country in a session that began with a tribute to soccer star Pelé, who died this week at the age of 82.
Lula already governed Brazil for two terms between 2003 and 2010, years during which he increased the international presence of the South American giant, symbolized in unprecedented Olympic Games, and adopted measures to try to combat poverty and reduce inequality.
