Lula waves to the crowd after the dedication ceremony in Brasilia January 1, 2003 (Photo: ORLANDO KISSNER/AFP via Getty Images)
Three days before the inauguration, there is doubt and curiosity about what Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) third term will be like. First elected in 2002 and reelected four years later in 2006, the PT delivered two inaugural speeches. So will the event taking place on Sunday (1st) say anything about the future government? The answer is Yes.
After losing three presidential campaigns, Lula finally took office as President of the Republic January 1, 2003. ThenPresident Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB) handed over the sash to his elected successor. This will not happen this time as President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who was defeated in the elections, refused to perform the rite and will be in the United States on the day of the event.
2003
Going back to January 1, 2023, nearly 20 years ago, Lula made a statement in the ceremonial opening session of the National Congress plenary. In his speech, he promised “change” and explained that Brazilian society “has decided it’s time to break new ground.”
Lula emphasized the importance of fight against hunger, and said its mission is to guarantee breakfast, lunch and dinner for all Brazilians. He also stated that create jobs would be his “obsession” and would enable reformshas spoken up “Restoring the security” of the population and maintaining a “constructive and fraternal” relationship with the legislature and the judiciary, among others. Were the promises kept? See some topics:
hunger
Although hunger in the country has never ended, research shows that the country made progress in tackling food insecurity between 2004 and 2014, during the PT governments. In the second term of the government of Dilma Rousseff (PT) from 2014, some social indicators deteriorated due to the economic crisis. According to a report by Veja magazine published in July this year, the situation deteriorated even further during the period of the governments of Michel Temer (MDB) and Jair Bolsonaro (PL) between 2018 and 2022.
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Additionally, Brazil officially exited the hunger map, a global report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in 2014 and returned to it this year.
jobs
As reported by Yahoo!At the end of 2002, before Lula’s first term began, approximately 28.7 million people were employed in formal jobs in Brazil. In 2010, the last year of the PT administration, there were 44 million jobs. The increase over that period was around 15.4 million, according to data calculated based on the Department of Labor and Employment’s RAIS (Annual List of Social Information).
social programs
It is important to talk about Bolsa Família, an incomesharing program launched in 2003, the first year of the PT government. As of January 2020, the benefit helped around 13 million families across all Brazilian communities.
After nearly two decades, President Jair Bolsonaro replaced the benefit with Auxílio Brasil. However, starting next year, the program, which helps families living in poverty and extreme poverty, will once again become Bolsa Família.
2007
Reelected in the second round of the 2006 election by more than 58 million votes, Lula made another address to the nation at the January 1, 2007 inauguration ceremony at the National Convention. The Petista began his speech with how he, a man born into poverty, came to be President of the Republic.
After ruling the country for four years, Lula declared that Brazil was different and for the better “in the strength of its economy, in the solidity of its institutions, and in its social balance.” He also said that the country still had social injustices, but it was different, for the better, for example “in eliminating hunger, reducing inequality and reducing unemployment”. At that time he repeated that the quality of education would be a priority for his newest administration.
“During the campaign, I stated that my second government will be a development government, with income sharing and quality education,” he said.
An article published in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper in October shows that Lula has invested in and expanded the higher education and research system, nearly doubling the number of public college places and expanding private college places with things like grants and scholarships funding supported .
According to the Senate administration, data from the PNDA (National Household Sample Survey) show that 13.6% of the Brazilian population was illiterate in 2000, before the start of the first Lula government. However, in 2010, the penultimate year of the PT’s second term, the rate fell to 9.6%. The government has created programs like ProUni (which offers scholarships to private universities) and Fies (tuition funding fund).