MADRID, January 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will not attend the inauguration of Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez will attend in his place.
As reported by the newspaper “O Globo”, the visit was canceled on the night of Saturday 31st, when Maduro’s security forces were already in Brasilia. Although Brazil’s Foreign Ministry reported the move, no further details about Maduro’s absence have been revealed.
Jair Bolsonaro’s government lifted on Friday the measure that banned the entry of the President of Venezuela to Brazil, a text that appeared in the Official Journal of the Union and was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos França, and the person in charge of Justice, Antonio Lawrence Ramirez.
Brazil’s outgoing president recognizes opposition figure Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, but his successor had already made it clear that he would open a new chapter in relations with Caracas, which will likely result in the appointment of a new ambassador to Venezuela in the short term.
In fact, a few days ago Maduro already announced a new ambassador in Brasilia to resume relations similar to those that Venezuela entered into earlier this year with Gustavo Petro’s assumption of power in Colombia.
President-elect Lula will take office this Sunday in a ceremony attended by more than a dozen heads of state and government, including King Felipe VI, who will be joined by Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and The second vice president and labor minister, Yolanda Díaz, will be accompanied.
The program includes several concerts on the esplanade of the ministries. Lula, accompanied by his wife and in a car in a procession heavily guarded by a large police machine, will drive to Brasilia Cathedral at around 2:30 p.m. local time.
Depending on the security situation, the journey takes place in a traditional Rolls-Royce Cabriolet or in an armored vehicle. The Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith model was first used by former President Getúlio Vargas in 1953, according to the Folha de S.Paolo newspaper.
Lula and his Vice President Geraldo Alckmin will arrive at Congress and park in front of the main ramp around 2:40 p.m. (local time) where they will be greeted by Senate Presidents Rodrigo Pacheco and Chamber Presidents Arthur Lira.
Lula and Alckmin will then head to the Planalto Palace, the seat of Brazil’s executive branch, where they will address the nation, where they will be given the presidential sash and where the ministers will be appointed.