Lula is back: ex-president starts third term in Brazil South Korea: North Korea fires more short-range missiles

“I will rule for 215 million Brazilians and not just those who voted for me,” he said in his inaugural address to Congress on Sunday. “No one is interested in a country that is constantly at war.”

The left-wing politician won in a second election against his right-wing predecessor Jair Bolsonaro at the end of October. The ex-serviceman, whose government deeply divided the country and earned him the nickname “Donald Trump of the Tropics,” never explicitly acknowledged his defeat. After the election, his supporters blocked country roads for weeks and called on the military to stage a coup.

Lula countered his predecessor’s behavior, which was also criticized by the German government, with a conciliatory message to the people: “No more hate, fake news, guns and bombs. Our people want peace to work, study, provide for their families and be happy,” said the 77-year-old.

More than a dozen heads of state attended the inauguration, including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. After the festivities, there was a big music festival with more than 40 artists in the capital Brasília.

Lula ruled Brazil from 2003 to 2010, which is about 23 times the size of Germany but has only a third of the economic power. 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 in 2018 on charges of corruption and money laundering, and spent 580 days in jail. The verdict was later overturned by the Supreme Court on formal grounds.

He is now the first democratically elected president in Brazil to serve a third term. Contrary to custom, his predecessor did not take part in the swearing-in ceremony. Bolsonaro had already traveled to the US with his family on Friday. So the presidential sash was handed over by a whole group of people who were supposed to represent the diversity of the country: a student, a singer, a locksmith, an indigenous man, a chef, an artist and an influencer.

Lula now faces major challenges. After Bolsonaro polarizes domestic politics and isolates Brazil on the global stage, the new president wants to unify and lead his country back onto the international scene. Lula announced a resolute environmental protection and climate policy, as well as measures against the increasing hunger among the population. However, he has to deal with a parliament in which Bolsonaro supporters form the largest group.

Immediately after being sworn in, Lula signed a series of decrees. He ordered special payments to the poorest families, extended fuel tax exemptions, resumed the fight against deforestation, reactivated the Amazon Fund and banned mining in environmental protection zones.

The Amazon region, with its enormous biodiversity, is of great importance in the fight against climate change. The rainforest binds enormous amounts of the greenhouse gas CO2 and plays a major role in the global climate. During Bolsonaro’s tenure, deforestation and cutting and burning for profit increased significantly. Lula now wants to better protect the rainforest.

As a major producer of food and renewable energy, Brazil is likely to play an increasingly important role in world trade in the future. A fully negotiated free trade agreement between the EU and the South American confederation of states Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) is currently on hold – partly because critics in Europe fear the deal could create more incentives to encourage agriculture and thus deforestation to expand.

“Following the conversation, I also have the impression that confidence is justified with regard to the development of trade relations between South America and Europe,” Steinmeier said on Sunday. Lula made it very clear that he would renegotiate the Mercosur trade deal. (sda/dpa)