The third time that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has served as president of Brazil, he has taken the oath of office.
The well-known left-wing politician Lula, who served as president from 2003 and 2010, also defeated Jair Bolsonaro in the election of October.
Lula promised to reconstruct a nation that was in “awful ruins” in his inaugural speech.
He criticized his predecessor’s policies, who left for the US on Friday to skip the handover ceremony.
Since early in the morning, a sea of Lula fans had assembled in front of Congress, dressed in the red of his Workers’ Party. They travelled for both a celebration and to witness their leader being sworn in.
As part of a music festival called “Lulapalooza,” more than 60 performers, including Samba great Martinho da Vila, were scheduled to take the stage on two enormous platforms draped in the country’s flag.
Before arriving at the Congress building, where the swearing-in took place to kick off the official inauguration ceremony, Lula and the incoming Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin paraded through the city in an open-top convertible.
Lula promised to reverse the damage left behind by his predecessor’s administration, which he claimed included a reduction in financing for programs promoting education, health, and Amazon rainforest preservation.
He also pledged to promptly repeal Mr. Bolsonaro’s divisive gun measures, which was met with thunderous applause from those in Congress who were watching.
Lula continued by saying that his government would not act in “a spirit of retribution,” but rather that individuals who had committed mistakes would bear responsibility for their actions.
