Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been inaugurated as Brazil's newest president after defeating his rival, Jair Bolsonaro, who reportedly fled to Florida and is planning to stay in the United States for a month.
During the Sunday celebrations, Lula delivered a heated indictment of the far-right former president and vowed a drastic change of course. He said he plans to rescue a nation that was plagued by hunger, poverty, and racism.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's Inauguration
Lula said during a speech to Congress after officially becoming the president of Latin America's biggest country that democracy was the true winner of the October 2022 presidential race. It was when he ousted Bolsonaro in the most fraught election for a generation.
The former president reportedly left Brazil and traveled to the United States on Friday after refusing to concede defeat. Bolsonaro rattled the cages of Brazil's young democracy with baseless claims of electoral weaknesses that resulted in a violent movement of election deniers, as per Inquirer.
Lula said that Democracy, being the winner of the election, overcame the most violent threats to the freedom to vote and the most abject campaign of lies and hate. The latter was allegedly used in a plot to manipulate and embarrass the electorate.
During Bolsonaro's 2019 inauguration, Lula was behind bars on graft convictions that were later overturned. Now, the new president of Brazil said that they do not carry any spirit of revenge against those who attempted to subjugate the nation to their personal and ideological designs.
According to Fox News, Lula added that under the winds of re-democratization, there is a saying that "Dictatorship never again." He also vowed that in his third term as leader of Brazil, he would tackle deforestation and climate change while invoking stricter gun policies.
Furthermore, the leftist lawmaker criticized his predecessor's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had killed 680,000 Brazilians. He noted that the responsibilities for the "genocide" must be investigated and must not go unpunished.
Jair Bolsonaro's Departure From Brazil
In a break from tradition, a garbage collector handed the presidential green-and-yellow sash to the incoming president. In a Twitter post, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the American government was looking forward to continuing the strong relationship between the two nations in trade, security, sustainability, innovation, and inclusion.
King Charles also expressed his congratulations to Lula, sending a letter that said he was "encouraged to hear you emphasize the urgent need to tackle the climate crisis in your victory speech and at COP27."
Bolsonaro, a few hours before reports of his departure, addressed Brazil as president on his social media account. He said that while at times on the verge of tears, he was not able to find a legal alternative or enough support to change the course of history and prevent his departure from office.
Prior to Lula's inauguration and after Bolsonaro's reported departure, the office of Brazil's vice president said that Gen. Hamilton Mourao would become acting president. The official gazette's Friday edition said that the former president was allowed to be accompanied by several officials during his trip to Miami between Jan. 1 and Jan. 30. They would offer "advice, security, and personal support," the Associated Press reported.
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