BRASILIA: Following threats of violence from supporters of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will be sworn in as president of Brazil on Sunday in the capital of Brazil.
Lula will wear the presidential sash at the Planalto palace in front of a crowd of 30,000 supporters after the ceremony in Congress begins at 3 p.m. (1800 GMT), and approximately 300,000 people are anticipated to gather to celebrate on the esplanade in Brasilia.
After a hiatus that saw him spend a year and a half in prison on corruption convictions that were later overturned, Lula, who is now 77 years old, narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in October to win an unprecedented third term as president.
During the commodity boom that bolstered the economy, the former union leader lifted millions of Brazilians out of poverty while serving as president of the Workers Party (PT) from 2003 to 2010.
Presently, he faces the overwhelming test of working on Brazil’s stale economy while likewise joining a country that has become horrendously enraptured under Bolsonaro.
“Lula has a lot on her plate. According to Creomar de Souza, director of Dharma Political Risk consultancy in Brasilia, “He will have the difficult mission of restoring normality and predictability in Brazil, and above all, to rapidly deliver results that improve the quality of life for its inhabitants.”
Friday, Bolsonaro left Brazil for Florida, removing himself from any immediate legal risks associated with his time in office and avoiding having to hand over the sash to his rival, whose victory he has yet to acknowledge.
In a climate of vandalism and violence, his supporters have been protesting for two months about the fraud in the election and have called for a military coup to prevent Lula from running for office again.
One supporter was taken into custody for making a bomb that was found on a truck full of aviation fuel at the entrance to the airport in Brasilia. He admitted that he was trying to cause chaos to get a military intervention.
At Sunday’s celebrations, authorities have sent 10,000 police officers and troops to increase security and search attendees, who are prohibited from bringing bottles, cans, flag masts, or toy guns. Conveying guns by regular citizens has additionally been briefly restricted.
According to the organizers, there will be delegations from 50 nations and 19 heads of state and governments, including the Spanish king.
On Friday, before flying to Florida, Bolsonaro delivered a teary address to the nation in which he condemned the bomb plot as a “terrorist act” but praised protesters camped outside army barracks across the country.
