Leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will be sworn in as president of Brazil on Sunday under tightened security in the Brazilian capital following threats of violence by supporters of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's swearing in marks a political comeback in a divided nationA supporter of the Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva makes the 'L' for Lula on Saturday, a day before Lula's expected inauguration.
The ceremony in Congress begins at 3 p.m. local time in Brasilia, after which Lula will go the Planalto palace to don the presidential sash before a crowd of 30,000 supporters. Some of the tens of thousands of supporters are then expected to gather to celebrate in Brasilia's esplanade.This after a hiatus that saw Lula spend a year and a half behind bars on corruption convictions that were later overturned.In his previous years as Workers Party president from 2003-2010, the former union leader lifted millions of Brazilians from poverty during a commodity boom that buoyed the economy of the largest country in South America.
But Lula's presidency is unlikely to be like his previous two mandates, coming after the tightest presidential race in more than three decades in Brazil and resistance to his taking office by some of his opponents. The leftist defeated the far-right Bolsonaro in the Oct. 30 vote by less than two percentage points and his loyal supporters have been loath to accept the loss.
Lula now faces the daunting challenge of improving Brazil's stagnant economy while also uniting a country that has become painfully polarized under Bolsonaro."A lot is expected of Lula. He'll have the difficult mission to restore normality and predictability in Brazil, and above all to rapidly deliver results that improve the quality of life for its inhabitants," said Creomar de Souza, director of Dharma Political Risk consultancy in Brasilia.