By Eric Nepomuceno.
After the most violent presidential inauguration in Brazilian history on January 1 and a popular party that shook the entire country, Lula da Silva came to power. The President and his ministers knew that the scenario of far-right Jair Bolsonaro’s legacy would be bleak: a country literally being devastated in every aspect of public life. But still there were surprises and none were pleasant.
Natuza Nery, a journalist for Globo News who could not be accused of being leftist or Lulista, made a revelation that clarified how Bolsonaro acted before fleeing to settle in Orlando, Fla., far from the hand of the Brazilian judiciary. He said that on Saturday, December 31, the eve of Lula’s inauguration, members of his team went to the Palacio do Planalto, the seat of the presidency he would assume the next day, for an initial inspection. And they could not enter the presidential office on the third floor: the door was closed and the key was missing. A specialist had to be called in to open it.
More than a demonstration of the fugitive president’s hostility, it’s an example of how Bolsonaro overpowered not just good manners and civility, but democracy itself and its principles of coexistence. Once again, the extreme right reiterated that for him there are no opponents, only enemies.
Lula assembled a government of 37 departments, unprecedented since redemocratization in 1985 after 21 years of military dictatorship. It had to involve the parties, which had come together in a kind of broad front to ensure victory against Bolsonaro, with a series of positions also unprecedented in the country’s political life.
Key ministries were handed over to Lula’s PT party. Some important, but insignificant, passed to the allies. And those with greater and unprecedented representativeness to representatives of their respective sectors: indigenous peoples, Afro descendants, women, farmers and sexually diverse people.
In this first week of government, along with the announcement of the return of a number of social programs that Bolsonaro had scrapped, such as Zero Hunger and Bolsa Familia, urgent measures for environmental protection and indigenous rights were launched. The failure of several initiatives by the right-wing extremist president could also be observed.
Lula announced the repeal of decrees allowing the proliferation of arms and ammunition in Brazil. It also imposed a one-month deadline to analyze more than a hundred measures that placed a number of government files under state secrecy for a hundred years: the aim was to preserve “the privacy and safety” of Bolsonaro and his family. friends and members of your government.
It happens that the law determining the application of such secrecy is clear and concise. In the Bolsonaro case, the intention is to keep secret who visited the Presidency Headquarters, the Planalto Palace – the President’s residence – and the Alvorada Palace, which the current legislation does not allow under any circumstances. But the cover-up is also reaching movements by ministers and measures taken in the army to protect the military that surrounded the far-right at work.
Lawyers and political analysts assert that the lifting of the secrecy imposed by Bolsonaro will create new and compelling evidence of wrongdoings committed under his orders. If this hypothesis is confirmed and the cases are brought to court, the minimum that will happen to Bolsonaro is that he will be banned from running for political office for eight years.
Lula and his ministers have been reticent, particularly on concrete action on the economy. The pressure and threats from the sacrosanct and invisible entity known as the Market have eased, indicating, at least for this first moment, their willingness to engage in dialogue.
On Bolsonaro’s side, a noticeable depletion of his character can be observed, which raises doubts about his political future. Several of its allies are seeking bridges for dialogue with the new government, a consolidated feature in a country with 32 active political parties, 22 of which have seats in Congress. On his flight to the United States, Bolsonaro is eclipsing himself more and more every day.
In Brazil, Lula knows the party’s over and that it’s time to leave the clouds of hope and set foot in harsh reality. To this end, he met his 37 ministers last Friday. The goal: to smooth rough edges and achieve harmony. It is that we must rule now. With urgent patience and method.