The Esplanada dos Ministérios in Brasilia began to fill with red, in an authentic after-hours carnival for the inauguration of Lula da Silva as Brazil’s new president.
Organized by Lula da Silva’s wife, “The Festival of the Future” officially began at 10 a.m. (1 p.m. in Lisbon) with a procession performed by people from the popular and traditional cultures of the Portuguese-speaking giant such as the toré, the bumba meu boi, afoxé, maracatus, marching bands, guitarists, capoeira groups, rural samba, frevo blocks, carnival blocks, afro blocks, indigenous peoples, peoples of African matrices, among others.
From Olinda, a town in the state of Pernambuco with one of the most famous carnivals in the country, a group of more than 50 people came by car, plane or bus. Everything is worth it “because Brazil is back”says Lusa, Rita from Pernambuco.
“This bloc was founded in 1977, during the military dictatorship. And carnival is political, only we know what happened in the past four years. Olinda has always been on the side of Lula and democracy,” said the woman from the northeast, a region where Lula won 69.34% of the valid vote, the only region where the PT candidate registered more votes than Bolsonaro, in an election decided by just over two million votes, the most balanced in the history of the Portuguese-speaking giant, with more than 220 million inhabitants.
“Create a government worthy of it that fights inequality and brings dignity to the people of the Northeast,” concludes Rita.
A little further back, still reaching the crowd, a group of young people from Brasilia walked around in dark glasses to hide the early signs of New Year’s Eve. One stops for two seconds and says to his friends: “You can smell it, it already smells like democracy”.
“You come, you come, I already hear your signals”, is sung among the crowd marching to the rhythm of the carnival blocks.
At 10:30am, the Elza Soares stage kicked off, one of two stages set up to accommodate over 60 artists who will perform until dawn.
“Brasília, Capital of All Rhythms” was the opening motto of this stage, inspired by the federal capital, “which was born from the participation of people who migrated from all corners of Brazil and vibrates with MPB, pop, samba, rock , sertanejo, maracatu, reggae, rap, funk and other rhythms”.
It now remains for the crowd in red to party and dance until 12:30 p.m., when Lula da Silva and his Vice President, Geraldo Alkimin, take the stage with a parade starting at the Esplanada dos Ministérios, towards the Congress Palace Nacional, seat of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
There, in the National Congress Palace, the inauguration took place, in which the “commitment was made to uphold, defend and fulfill the Constitution, to observe the laws, to promote the common good of the Brazilian people, to unity, to support Brazil’s integrity and independence”. , according to the Brazilian constitution.
Lula da Silva will address the National Congress, in a session chaired by National Congress President Rodrigo Pacheco.
After this formal session, at 4:20 pm (7:20 pm in Lisbon), Brazil’s President, Lula da Silva, will receive the presidential sash, which this time will not be handed over by his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
The outgoing head of state, who served one term, left Friday for the United States, where he is expected to stay at a Palm Beach “resort” owned by former US President Donald Trump, and will miss the inauguration ceremony as a result. which is marked by the moment of the handing over of the presidential sash by the outgoing president to his successor, a symbolic gesture respected by all presidents since Brazil regained democracy in 1985 after 21 years of dictatorship.
Afterwards, Lula da Silva travels to the Itamaraty Palace, the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to hold a reception with various foreign guests from more than 65 foreign delegations, including heads of state, vice presidents, heads of diplomacy, special envoys and representatives of international organizations.
The Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, and the former Prime Minister and personal friend of Lula da Silva, José Sócrates, will be present at the celebrations.
Source: DN
