Bolsonaro denied successor Lula the last conciliatory gesture free condoms for young people in France

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in as Brazil’s new president on Sunday night, Swiss time. He is the country’s first democratically elected president to serve a third term. At the end of October, the left-wing Lula narrowly defeated his far-right competitor and predecessor Jair Bolsonaro in a second round.

“My message today is one of hope and recovery,” Lula said in his inaugural address. About 300,000 supporters and more than a dozen heads of state and government attended his swearing-in ceremony in the capital Brasília, including Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Unlike usual, his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro stayed away from the festivities. The right-wing ex-serviceman traveled with his family to the United States on Friday, where he was said to have landed in a military plane in Orlando, according to flight path tracking websites in Orlando.

Numerous members of Bolsonaro’s cabinet and a number of government officials were also allowed to accompany “the future ex-president” to Miami from January 1 to 30, according to a gazette published before Lula’s appointment. There they should be with “advice, safety and personal support”. Until recently, Bolsonaro had not recognized the election result in favor of Lula.

resistance to the last day

During Bolsonaro’s absence, his deputy Hamilton Mourão took over state affairs in the last days before the change of government. However, he refused to hand over the presidential sash to Lula on Sunday’s ceremony on behalf of Bolsonaro. According to the office of the then vice president, this is not one of his duties.

The celebrations took place under heightened security conditions after an attack suspected by Bolsonaro supporters was thwarted on Christmas Eve. Also shortly before Lula was sworn in, there was an incident on Sunday in which a man was arrested who tried to use an explosive device and a knife to gain access to the esplanade in the capital Brasília. Hundreds of thousands celebrated the change of government there hours before Lula was sworn in.

«Brazil is back on the international scene»

Shortly before Lula’s inauguration, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met the new president for a talk on Saturday evening. These included trade relations between Europe and Brazil and the protection of the Brazilian rainforest, Steinmeier said on Sunday.

“It is good to know that Brazil is back on the international stage,” he said of the country’s change of government. “We need a Brazilian political leadership that will play its part – not only in economic cooperation, but also in protecting the global climate.” He was pleased to find that Lula was willing to take on exactly this role with Brazil.

Steinmeier announced that Germany will soon make 35 million euros available for the Amazon Fund to protect the rainforest. Regarding economic cooperation between Brazil and the EU, Lula stressed that he would reverse Bolsonaro’s decision and renegotiate the Mercosur trade deal.

New chapter for relationship with Germany

During Bolsonaro’s tenure, relations between Germany and Brazil were strained. Because Bolsonaro did nothing about the increasing deforestation of the rainforest, the federal government temporarily suspended payments to the Amazon fund to protect the region. Lula’s announcements should now significantly strengthen the country’s environmental and climate protections.

Lula ruled the largest country in Latin America from 2003 to 2010. At the time, his government was taking advantage of the resource boom and was able to lift millions of people out of poverty through major social programs. But corruption also flourished. Lula herself was sentenced to a long prison term for corruption and money laundering, but the sentence was later overturned. In the second election in October, he won against his right-wing predecessor Bolsonaro.