In Brazil, former union leader and head of the Workers’ Party Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was inaugurated Sunday for his third term as the country’s president, replacing far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. Lula served as Brazil’s most popular president from 2003 to 2010 and helped lift tens of millions of Brazilians out of poverty. But in 2018, as he prepared to run for office again, he was jailed on trumped-up corruption charges, paving the way for the election of Bolsonaro. The charges were later thrown out. Bolsonaro boycotted the ceremony, after first refusing to concede the election, and fled Brazil for Orlando, Florida, as he avoids criminal investigations. The new administration has vowed to fight poverty, invest in education and health, and halt illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest. We are joined by Maria Luísa Mendonça, director of the Network for Social Justice and Human Rights in Brazil, and journalist Michael Fox, host of the podcast “Brazil on Fire.” Transcript This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form. AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show in Latin America’s largest country, Brazil, where people filled the streets Sunday to celebrate the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as their new president, marking a stunning comeback for the former union leader and president, who replaces the far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. LULA SUPPORTER: [translated] We are here because the inauguration of Lula means we can resume the restoration of our democracy. We are here to show political force and that democracy includes all races, ethnicities and social classes.
