João Lourenço attends inauguration of Lula da Silva

 Brasilia - Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, witnessed on Sunday the inauguration of the President-elect of Brazil, Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, in a ceremony attended by over 300,000 people.

Accompanied by the First Lady of the Republic, Ana Dias Lourenço, President João Lourenço joined other heads of State and Government who were invited to the ceremony, which began at 02:00 pm in Brasilia.

During the procession, the new President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, Vice-President, Geraldo Alckmin, and their respective wives were transported from the Cathedral to the National Congress (Parliament) in a convertible vehicle.

 

 

In the National Congress, Lula da Silva took office, for the third time, as President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, and on the same occasion the Vice-President, Geraldo Alckmin, also took office.

 

In the chamber plenary, the President and Vice-President of Brazil received greetings from Senators and Deputies, as well as from some heads of State and heads of Government and guests.

 

The event was attended by 60 delegations from several countries, one of which was Angola.

 

A Brazil for All

In his inauguration speech, Lula da Silva pledged to do everything in his power, together with the Vice-President, to improve the living conditions of Brazilians.

 

“Today our message to Brazil is of hope and reconstruction”, said the new Head of State.

 

According to President Lula da Silva, from now on all the efforts of his government will be focused on rebuilding a country of rights and national values.

 

He also said that the diagnosis he received from the Transition Office is shocking.

 

Lula da Silva stated that health resources have been drained, as well as those for education, culture, science and technology, in addition to the destruction of the environment.

 

“No resources were left for school meals, vaccination, public security, forest protection, social assistance”, he added.

 

Also according to the sworn-in President, the economy, public financing, support for companies, entrepreneurs and foreign trade have been disorganised.

 

In the face of the budget disaster, the Head of State revealed that proposals were presented to the National Congress in order to support the vulnerable population to survive through the State.

 

Regarding such situation, he promised to resume the policy of permanent valuing of the minimum wage and put an end, once again, to what he called the “shameful” queue at the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), as well as promised more dialogue between the government, trade unions and businesses on new labour legislation and freedom of enterprise also.

 

Active Dialogue with nations

 

The new Brazilian Government wants also to invest in re-energising the economy and re-taking the leadership in the fight against environmental crises and also the resumption of South American integration, starting with the Southern Common Market (Mercosul), the revitalisation of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and other bodies of sovereign articulation in the region.

 

On this basis, Lula da Silva wants to rebuild dialogue with the United States, the European Community, China, the countries of the East and other global players.

 

The new President of Brazil wants also to contribute to strengthening the five leading emerging economies of the world namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS), and cooperation with African countries in order to break the isolation to which the country has been restricted.

 

“Brazil has to be its own boss, it should be master of its destiny. It has to go back to being a sovereign country. We are responsible for most of the Amazon and for vast biomes, large aquifers, mineral deposits, oil and clean energy sources”, he pointed out.

 

With sovereignty and responsibility, President Lula da Silva also wants to share the greatness of Brazil with humanity.

 

The relevance of the elections in Brazil puts an end to the threats that the democratic model has been facing.

 

The new President pointed to the existence of what he considered “a wave of authoritarian extremism that disseminates hatred and lies, through technological means that do not submit to transparent controls”.