The presidential inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is going through its last preparations this week. The organization, led by the next government team, expects a contingent of about 300 thousand people next Sunday (1) at the Esplanade of the Ministries, where the event begins.
On Tuesday (27), the National Congress held a simulation of the inauguration ceremony, to rehearse the steps of the teams that will perform that day. The itinerary begins with the arrival of the authorities and other guests, scheduled between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. From 1:45 p.m. onwards, the Heads of Government and State who will attend the event will begin to arrive.
In total, Lula will receive representatives from 120 countries, 53 of them made up of heads of state, heads of government and ministers. At least 17 heads of state have confirmed their presence. They come from the following countries: Germany, Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Guinea-Bissau, Paraguay, Portugal, Suriname, East Timor, Uruguay, Zimbabwe and Spain, whose representative will be King Felipe VI. In 2019, President Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party) received 10 heads of state and 18 delegations in total during the inauguration.
According to the program, Lula and the vice-president elect, Geraldo Alckmin (Brazilian Socialist Party), will arrive at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasilia between 2:20 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., and shortly thereafter will parade from the church to the National Congress. It is not yet known if Lula will parade in an open car. Lula's security team favors an armored vehicle to increase protection against possible hate attacks, but Lula resists the idea. With his charismatic and popular profile, the president-elect is interested in parading in an open car and should make the decision on the vehicle used for the tour in the next few days.
Lula and Alckmin arrive at the Legislative House at 2:40 p.m., and will be officially received by the presidents of the Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco (Social Democratic Party), and of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (Progressive Party). At 3:00 p.m., the solemn session of presidential investiture begins, which takes place in the Plenary.
The ceremony ends at 3:50 p.m., when Lula and Alckmin will go to the Audience Hall of the Presidency of the Federal Senate, from where they will leave at 4:00 p.m. to the outside area of the Congress to attend the military honors ceremony. At 4.20 p.m. they will leave for the Planalto Palace, where Lula will receive the presidential sash.
According to press reports, Bolsonaro and his vice-president, Hamilton Mourão, will not participate in the ceremony, which means that the sash will have to be passed to Lula by someone else. The new government team is studying the case and evaluating the possibility of appointing a civil society representative as an alternative. Finally, after leaving the Planalto, the new president will be received by heads of state and representatives of other countries at the Itamaraty Palace (headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), located on the Esplanade of the Ministries.
Innovations
The inauguration has traditional characteristics, but this year will also feature some innovations. Coordinated by the future first lady, Rosângela da Silva [Janja], the ceremony will feature, for example, the presence of the little dog Resistência [Resistance], adopted by the sociologist in Curitiba, when Lula was still incarcerated in the city's Federal Police Superintendence.
The animal will participate in the ceremony directly from the ramp of the Planalto Palace, as a symbol of Lula's resistance during the period he was imprisoned. The solemnity will also have other characteristics different from those of recent presidential inaugurations. There will be no fireworks with noise, for example, in respect for animals and people with disabilities and autism.
The change responds to a request from representatives of these segments, who also requested that the new government avoid the traditional 21 cannon shots typical of the solemnity. Performed by the 32nd Field Artillery Group, the honor was created at the time of the proclamation of the Republic, but should be revised this year. Lula's team is coordinating with the Senate to try to find an alternative to this rite.
Concerts
The official protocol program is not the only one on the opening day. There will also be a sequence of musical concerts starting at 10 a.m. and continuing until 1 p.m., to resume at 6.30 p.m., when the institutional rites are over. In total, 57 artists will perform in ten different shows.
It is the so-called Festival of the Future, which will feature local and national names concentrated on two stages, baptized Gal Costa and Elza Soares in homage to the two MPB singers who passed away in 2022. The public attending the venue will be able to follow the official ceremony of Lula's parade and the shows also through large screens distributed throughout the space.
Security
Because of the magnitude and importance of the event, the inauguration will have a super security scheme at the Ministries Esplanade and around the Three Branches. In all, 700 Federal Police agents will be deployed at the site, which will also have a bomb squad and an aerial barrier to prevent the presence of drones in the vicinity. The nearly 300,000 people expected at the Esplanade will need to go through a personal search to enter the site.
There will also be a massive contingent from the Public Security Secretariat of the Federal District. The Federal District government has not yet released the details of the operation, which should come to light in the coming days. It is already known, however, that agents from the administrative area of the police have been called to work in ostensive patrolling.
The future Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino (PSB), met with the governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis (MDB), on Tuesday (27), and said after the meeting that the inauguration “will occur as scheduled in all its dimensions.
“There will be full mobilization, 100% of the police forces of DF, both the Military Police, Civil Police, Fire Department, to ensure the safety not only of the president of the Republic, but of the foreign delegations and the people who will participate in the event,” said the future minister.
Edited by: Thalita Pires
