CNN
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Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva was due to be sworn in as Brazil’s new president on Sunday, as threats of violence loomed from supporters of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
The 76-year-old politician, returning to the presidency after a 12-year hiatus, is scheduled to arrive with his wife Rosângela da Silva at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Brasília, and head to congress where a formal congressional session will take place.
After that, the newly inaugurated president and the first lady will travel in an open car parade to attend a military honors ceremony outside the presidential palace.
He will then receive a presidential sash and deliver his first public address of his term as Brazil’s new leader.
Looming over the ceremony, the notable absence of Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for Florida on Friday and did not specify his return date.
His trip to the US breaks with Brazilian convention of outgoing leaders being present at their successors’ inauguration ceremony. It came as Brazil’s government issued an ordinance on Friday authorizing five civil servants to accompany “future ex-president” Bolsonaro to Miami, Florida, between January 1 and 30, 2023.
Bolsonaro’s former vice president Hamilton Mourao addressed the nation in a speech on national television this Saturday on the last day of his government, and criticized leaders whose silence created “an atmosphere of chaos.”
“Leaders that should reassure and unite the nation around a project for the country allowed that silence to create an atmosphere of chaos and social division,” said Mourao, who added that the armed forces had to pay the bill. Since the election results Bolsonaro had addressed the public only three times, and none of them he said he accepted the election results, fomenting his radical base into believing the result could be reversed.
Lula da Silva won a tight run-off race on October 30, in a stunning comeback that marked the return of the left in power in Brazil following four years of Bolsonaro’s far-right administration.
He accomplished a remarkable return to power, after a series of corruption allegations that led to his imprisonment for 580 days. The Supreme Court later ruled it a mistrial, clearing his path to run for reelection.
This will be his third term, after previously governing Brazil for two consecutive terms between 2003 and 2010.
Violence has since taken grip of the country with Bolsonaro yet to explicity concede his election loss, despite his administration saying it is cooperating with the transition of power.
Security presence at Lula da Silva’s inauguration will be high, as approximately 8,000 security agents from several police forces are mobilized this Sunday, according to the Federal District’s security department.
Earlier on Sunday, a man was arrested in Brasilia by the military police after he was caught trying to get into the inauguration party carrying a knife and fireworks, officials said in a statement. The suspect traveled from Rio de Janeiro.
A Brazilian Supreme Court Judge on Wednesday ordered a four-day ban on carrying firearms in the capital that willl run through the end of Sunday, as a precautionary measure ahead of the ceremony.
It will not apply to active members of the armed forces, policemen and private security guards, Judge Alexandre de Moraes wrote.
Lula da Silva’s team had requested a ban on firearms at the inauguration days after police arrested a man on suspicion of planting and possessing explosive devices at Brasilia International Airport.
The suspect, identified as 54-year-old gas station manager George Washington de Oliveira Sousa, is a supporter of incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro and told the police in a statement, seen by CNN, that he intended to “create chaos” so as to prevent Lula da Silva from taking office again in January.
Moraes’ ban came into force as thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters have gathered at military barracks across the country in protest of the election result, asking the army to step in as they claim, with no evidence, that the election was stolen.
Bolsonaro condemned Sousa’s bombing attempt on Friday, saying “there is no justification” for a “terrorist act.”
“Brazil will not end on January 1, you can be sure about that,” the outgoing president said in reference to Lula da Silva’s inauguration date.
“Today we have a mass of people who know more about politics,” he added. “They understand they are at risk. Good will win. We have leaders all over Brazil. New politicians or reelected politicians, they will make a difference.”