[News] Lula says that Bolsonaro will be held accountable for his denial of covid-19: "He will respond in a legal process"

[FNX Magokiler]

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in on Sunday, taking office for the third time after thwarting right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's re-election bid. His return to power marks the culmination of a political resurgence that delights his supporters and greatly angers his rivals in a highly polarized nation. "Our message for Brazil is one of hope and reconstruction," Lula said in a speech in the lower house of Congress after signing the document officially installing him as president. "This great edifice of rights, sovereignty and development that this nation built has been systematically demolished in recent years. And we are going to direct all our efforts to re-erect this edifice."

The main esplanade of Brasilia was a party on Sunday afternoon. Tens of thousands of supporters dressed in the red color of Lula's Workers' Party cheered after his inauguration. They also celebrated when the president said he would send a report on the previous government to all legislators and judicial authorities, revoke Bolsonaro's "criminal decrees" that relaxed gun control rules, and hold his administration to account for its denialism. in the face of the covid-19 pandemic. "We do not bring any spirit of revenge against those who sought to subjugate the nation to their personal and ideological designs, but we are going to guarantee the rule of law," Lula declared, without mentioning Bolsonaro's name. "Those who erred will answer for their errors, with broad rights for their defense within the due legal process." Lula's presidency is unlikely to be like his previous two terms, following Brazil's closest presidential race in more than three decades and resistance to him taking office from some of his opponents, according to political analysts. The leftist edged out Bolsonaro in the October 30 runoff by less than two percentage points.

 

 

For months, Bolsonaro had cast doubt on the reliability of electronic voting, and his loyal supporters were loathe to concede defeat. Since then many of them have gathered outside military barracks, questioning the results and asking the armed forces to prevent Lula from becoming president. His most staunch supporters resorted to what some authorities and members of the next government described as acts of "terrorism", which raised security concerns at the inauguration ceremony. Lula will have to navigate more challenging economic conditions than he enjoyed in his first two terms, when the global boom in consumer goods helped Brazil enjoy prosperity. At the time, his government's welfare program helped tens of millions of impoverished people reach the middle class. Many Brazilians traveled abroad for the first time. When he left office he had an 83% approval rating. Since then the country's economy has suffered two deep recessions — the first during the presidency of his self-appointed successor, Dilma Rousseff, and the second during the coronavirus pandemic — and ordinary Brazilians have suffered greatly. Lula has said that his priorities are fighting poverty and investing in education and health care. In addition, he said that he will stop the illegal deforestation of the Amazon. He has sought the backing of moderate politicians to form a broad front to defeat Bolsonaro, and has selected some of them to join his government.

 

https://www.emol.com/noticias/Internacional/2023/01/01/1082685/presidente-lula-negacionismo-bolsonaro-covid.html