Posted on 12/29/2022 6:00 AM / updated on 12/29/2022 6:00 AM
(Photo credit: Carlos Vieira/CB)
The Democracy Party fuels hopes for a better Brazil and crowds from all corners of the country and abroad. A people moved by the desire to see President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), elected by 60,345,999 votes, on January 1st for the third time as President. Confidence that the police will carry out their constitutional task of maintaining security and order encourages Brazilians of all ages to leave their cities for the capital. And many others who open their homes to receive friends, family and even strangers.
The desire to see Lula climb the ramp drives Eduardo Moraes to travel 7,357 kilometers. The Director of Technology is 50 years old and hails from Taubaté (SP) but currently resides in Ottawa, Canada. “I’ll arrive in Goiânia on the 31st, spend the night in a hotel and I’ll be at the Esplanada early on the 1st for the party. After the news of the bomb, I was worried. But now, this minister Alexandre Moraes has banned the carrying of arms, I’m calmer and I won’t stop joining the party,” he says.
Adding to the celebrations, Eduardo says he doesn’t believe in a miracle during the PT’s tenure. However, he dreams of being proud to be Brazilian again no matter where he is. “I hope this new government is one of reconciliation. That she can bring back the peace that has been lost through so many years of incitement to hatred and division. That we can be just one Brazil again,” he dreams.
Eduardo Moraes arrives from Canada for the transition party (Photo: Personal Archive)
faith and destiny
In September, photographer Danilo Fernandes Dias Alvarez, 24, and his mother, Mônica Mata Machado Fernandes Dias, 61, a retired social worker living in Belo Horizonte, held plane tickets to Brasília and a hotel reservation in hand. The elections were still in the campaign phase with heated debates, but polls indicated that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) would be elected. With that already won feeling, the bullish duo decided to complete the buying.
Victory was confirmed, but they didn’t expect to get a pleasant surprise on the last straight. “We will be staying in the same hotel complex as President Lula, which is right next to the TV tower. We didn’t know that when we made the reservation, so it was a huge gift,” says Danilo. The photographer from Minas Gerais observes that in addition to faith, economic reasons also drove him. “We decided to take a risk ahead of the result as we knew ticket and accommodation prices would increase after the result. And this difference would be greater than a possible cancellation penalty,” he calculates.
Mother and son are leaving Belo Horizonte this Thursday (12/29) very excited for the historic event but also concerned and anxious about recent events. “We plan to spend New Year’s Eve on the Esplanada and watch the entire inauguration as close as possible to the congress the next day, but as much as we feel safe,” explains the boy, who attended the inauguration for the first time, was only 2 years old “This is a dream come true for my mother, who wanted to be there in 2003 and couldn’t,” he concludes.
Inauguration of President Lula Danilo Fernandes Dias and Mônica Fernandes Dias mother and son (Photo: Personal Archive)
For the dancer and teacher Gisele Calazans, 41, this moment will be a great ceremony to unite your strengths for life. “Those were very gray years. Marked by destruction, alienation, lovelessness on all levels. Celebrating and celebrating this resumption is an act of resistance,” he believes. The Brazilian has lived in São Paulo for 22 years and came to DF to enjoy the ceremony with her husband and daughters. “My mother and sister still live here. We came for Christmas and decided to stay over New Year’s because of the inauguration,” he admits.
Gisele jokes that the trip was planned even before the second round result was announced. “Nobody was certain (of winning) but we bought the tickets believing we were going to win. It was almost a promise,” says the teacher, leaving a message for the presidentelect. “I hope that from January 1st, Brazil will be able to prioritize social justice. I don’t see any possible horizon if there is no discussion of the inequalities in our country,” he wishes.
solidarity network
As the hours pass, people from Brasilia weave a network of solidarity to accommodate those who cannot afford the accommodation or who have not found vacancies in the hotel chain. Such is the case of the retired banker Mirian Fochi, 59. She lives in Lago Norte and will receive five people in her home. “I learned through a Whatsapp group that many people need solidarity housing and I was ready to receive them. We made a video call and got to know each other a little. One of the people has already arrived, the other only on Saturday. We’ll get to know each other better there,” says Mirian, revealing that the people will come from Bahia, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre and Peru.
Bahian lawyer Ana Maria Teixeira, 66, was the first to arrive at the banker’s home. She says the trip was planned, as a prognosis, so to speak. “I made the decision to come to the inauguration even before Lula’s win,” he says. “I hope everything goes smoothly. I was at the Esplanada, I saw that it was going to be a nice party and I will take an active part in it,” reveals the lawyer.
12/28/2022 Credit: Carlos Vieira/CB. Brazilses receiving visitors from outside the DF for Lula’s inauguration. In the photo Ana Maria Teixeira, who came from Bahia. (Photo: Carlos Vieira/CB)
Banco do Brasil’s retired employee Hilda Resende, 55, is also part of the solidarity network welcoming visitors to the inauguration. Eight people from Rio de Janeiro have arrived at her home and are waiting for the big day. She works on social media and is part of the Lular Network Committee, a project of more than 100 volunteers to welcome travelers to Lula’s inauguration. “We encourage people to come to the inauguration and answer questions, take care of security and accommodation of the caravans,” says the Workers’ Party member. “I recently joined after Lula herself started following me on Twitter.”
Journalist Adonis Teixeira, 39, is one of those living in Hilda’s house. For four years he has been involved in a militant project for Lula in Rio de Janeiro. After the death of his father, who coordinated the initiative, Adonis took over the project and along with seven other people brought with him a giant inflatable doll of the Presidentelect. “We will bring the puppet near the stage for the housewarming and interact with the public, who can write their name on the puppet,” he expects. “I hope to have a lot of joy and a lot of emotion by being there in the moment that my father would like to be too. He was the creator of the puppet whose raison d’être is the election and inauguration of Lula.”
Some dream of arriving at the inauguration of Lula’s third term as President of the Republic, long before the PT’s official nominee for the post. Digital nomad Keila Borges de Moura, 41, has been planning to come to the event since Lula was arrested in 2018 when he started building the campervan with his retired mother, Vilma Borges, 66. In addition to mother and daughter, Piupiu, the 4yearold pet chicken, also came. “We were certain that Lula would come back to the top and become president again. And this is the first trip with our mobile home,” he reveals. The trio came from Cabo Frio (RJ) and settled in Concha Acústica in Vila Planalto, but on the eve of the inauguration they want to move close to the Planalto Palace.
Keila and Vilma Borges have arrived with the chicken Piupiu by motorhome (Photo: Personal archive)
security
Federal District Governor Ibaneis Rocha (MDB) assured this week that all security forces in the capital will work to ensure the inauguration ceremonies are peaceful. And that the civilian police have dedicated themselves to investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the terrorist attack by Bolsonarian businessman George Washington Sousa, 54, who has been arrested since Saturday and is accused of plotting to blow up a truck carrying kerosene from an airplane near the airport.
Via his social networks, the current Minister of Public Security (SSPDF), Júlio Danilo, reported yesterday on an alignment meeting at his office attended by portfolio managers and MPDFT prosecutors. According to Júlio Danilo, the meeting was intended to discuss the work and performance of DF security forces at Presidentelect inauguration events. “A protocol of integrated measures aimed at maintaining public order and safety of the public, public buildings and authorities present at the event has been established with the participation of federal and local authorities,” he stressed.
The secretary recalled that in several events of this nature, such as the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff in 2016, the 2018 and 2022 elections, the DF troops had acted “professionally” in addition to the files and the September 7 parade, the secretary said. “For the inauguration, given the complexity of the event and given the historical moment, we will take specific measures,” he said. “We hope everything goes smoothly, but we will be prepared for different scenarios,” added Júlio Danilo.
*Internship supervised by Patrick Selvatti