ABOVE: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Jan. 1. (Photo courtesy of Lula’s Twitter page)
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Jan. 1 took office in his country’s capital of Brasília.
Hundreds of thousands of Da Silva’s supporters traveled to Brasília for his inauguration. U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is among the dignitaries who attended.
“Today we begin a new chapter in Brazil’s history,” tweeted Da Silva after his inauguration.
Da Silva, a member of the leftist Worker’s Party, was Brazil’s president from 2003-2010.
Da Silva in 2017 received a 9 1/2 year prison sentence after his conviction on money laundering and corruption charges that stemmed from Operation Car Wash. The Brazilian Supreme Court in November 2019 ordered Da Silva’s release.
His predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, a member of the right-wing Liberal Party who represented Rio de Janeiro in the Brazilian Congress for nearly three decades, took office in 2018.
The former Brazilian Army captain faced sharp criticism because of his rhetoric against LGBTQ and intersex Brazilians and other groups. Bolsonaro’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic also sparked outrage.
Da Silva, who publicly supported LGBTQ and intersex rights during his campaign, last October defeated Bolsonaro in the second round of the country’s presidential election.
Bolsonaro sought to discredit Brazil’s electoral system. The now former president, who has yet to publicly acknowledge his loss, on Dec. 30 gave an emotional speech to his supporters before he flew to Florida.
Bolsonaro did not attend Da Silva’s inauguration.
“In a sense it’s good,” one source in Brazil told the Washington Blade on Dec. 31. “[Bolsonaro]’s moving out of the way.”
Two transgender congresswoman take office
Two transgender congresswomen — Erika Hilton and Duda Salabert —took office on Jan. 2. Rio Grande do Sul Gov. Eduardo Leite, a member of the centrist Brazilian Social Democracy Party who is the country’s first openly gay state governor, also began his second term in office.
Leite last October defeated Onyx Lorenzoni, a member of the right-wing Liberal Party who is Bolsonaro’s former chief-of-staff.
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