Lula takes over in Brazil, slams Bolsonaro's legacy at inauguration ceremony

Record ID: 1704927

  • Title: Lula takes over in Brazil, slams Bolsonaro's legacy at inauguration ceremony
  • Date: 2nd January 2023
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZIL’S PRESIDENT, LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, SAYING: “The last few years we undoubtedly lived in one of the worst periods in our history. An era of shadows, doubts and a lot of suffering but this nightmare came to an end with the sovereign vote in the most important election since the country's return to democracy. An election that has shown the Brazilian people’s commitment to democracy and its institutions. This extraordinary victory of democracy forces us to look forward, to forget our differences which are much less than what unites us forever: the love for Brazil and the unbreakable faith in our people.” FOREIGN LEADERS AND DIGNITARIES ATTENDING LULA’S INAUGURATION
  • Embargoed: 16th January 2023 02:57
  • Keywords: Bolsonaro Brazil Inauguration Lula President
  • Location: BRASILIA, BRAZIL
  • City: BRASILIA, BRAZIL
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA003986502012023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE, THIS EDIT COMPLEMENTS AND ADDS NEW MATERIAL TO EDIT NUMBER 9858-BRAZIL-POLITICS/INAUGURATION-WRAP
    Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as Brazil's president on Sunday (January 1), delivering a searing indictment of far-right former 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 biggest country, the leftist said democracy was the true winner of the October presidential vote, when he ousted Bolsonaro in the most fraught election for a generation.
    Lula described Bolsonaro’s government as one the worst periods in Brazilian history and called the last few years “an era of shadows, doubts and a lot of suffering.”
    Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for the United States on Friday (December 30) after refusing to concede defeat, rattled the cages of Brazil's young democracy with baseless claims of electoral weaknesses that birthed a violent movement of election deniers.
    Lula's plans for government provided a stark contrast to Bolsonaro's four years in office, which were characterized by backsliding on environmental protections in the Amazon rainforest, looser gun laws and weaker protections for indigenous peoples and minorities.
    After the swearing-in, Lula drove in an open-top Rolls-Royce to the Planalto palace, where he walked up its ramp with his wife and a diverse group that included Chief Raoni Metuktire of the Kayapó tribe, a young Black boy, a cook and a disabled man.
    Lula was then handed the presidential sash - a hugely symbolic act in Brazil that Bolsonaro had repeatedly said he would never do - by Aline Sousa, a Black garbage collector.
    Tens of thousands who had gathered to celebrate on Brasilia's esplanade cheered as Lula wiped away tears.
    In a subsequent speech, he pledged to unite the polarized country and govern for all Brazilians.
    Among his supporters, 30-year-old, Marianna Borges told Reuters Lula's rule opens a chance to prove democracy can be rebuilt.
    (Production: Leandra Camera, Leonardo Benassatto, Anna Portella, Gerardo Gomez)
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