Lula da Silva takes office today as the 39th President of Brazil

Lula da Silva toma hoje posse como 39.º Presidente do Brasil

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returns to the presidency of Brazil today, after 12 years, succeeding Jair Bolsonaro, in a ceremony in the country's capital, Brasilia, under heavy security measures.

The future 39th Brazilian President, 77 years old and a native of Pernambuco de Garanhuns, in the northeast of the country, won the second round of the presidential elections against Jair Bolsonaro on October 30 by a small margin of 50.90% against 49.10% and will have as his main mission to unite a highly polarized country.

Sixty-five foreign delegations are expected to attend the ceremony, including Portugal, represented by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, but the main absentee is likely to be Jair Bolsonaro, who traveled to the United States on Friday. For the first time in the history of Brazil's post-military dictatorship in 1985, the outgoing president will not hand over the presidential sash to his successor.

According to Lusa, Brasilia is under heavy police guard, with traffic restrictions and around 15,000 security forces mobilized to counter threats from Bolsonaro supporters who want to prevent Lula da Silva's inauguration and who have held violent protests in recent weeks.

The festivities kick off first thing in the morning with the "Festival of the Future", organized by 'Janja' Lula da Silva, the President-elect's wife, on the Esplanade of the Ministries in Brasilia.

Several Brazilian singers, including Pabllo Vittar, Martinho da Vila, Maria Rita, Juliano Maderada (singer of the hit 'Está na hora de o Jair ir embora'), Valesca Popozuda, among others, will be performing until 3am on January 2nd.

The more than 300,000 people expected will be able to follow the event on giant screens dotted around the city.

At around 12:30 p.m. (local time), Lula da Silva and his vice-president, Geraldo Alkimin, entered the scene with a procession starting at the Esplanade of Ministries, to the National Congress Palace, the seat of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

There, in the Palace of the National Congress, the swearing-in takes place, with the "commitment to maintain, defend and fulfill the Constitution, observe the laws, promote the general good of the Brazilian people, uphold the union, integrity and independence of Brazil", according to the Brazilian Constitution.

Lula da Silva will address the National Congress, in a session led by the president of the National Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco.

After this solemn session, at 4:20 p.m., the now Brazilian 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 has served one term, left on Friday for the United States, where he is expected to stay at a resort in Palm Beach, owned by former US president Donald Trump, and will thus miss the swearing-in ceremony, which is marked by the moment when the outgoing president hands over the presidential sash to his successor, a symbolic gesture that has been respected by all presidents since Brazil regained democracy in 1985, after 21 years of dictatorship.

Lula da Silva then went to the Itamaraty Palace, the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to host a reception with a number of 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.

The presidents of Angola, João Lourenço; East Timor, José Ramos-Horta; Cape Verde, José Maria Neves; Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, and the executive secretary of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Zacarias da Costa, are also expected to attend.

Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) is the first head of state to serve three terms in office in Brazil's recent history. A six-time candidate for the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil, he was the first workers' leader to reach the country's top political post, having governed the country from 2003 to 2011.

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