- Cathy Watson in Brasilia and Matt Murphy in London
- BBC news
Supporters of President Lula da Silva appeared in the red Workers Party suit and one of them wore the presidential sash.
Crowds of people gathered in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, in preparation for the inauguration ceremony of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as the country’s president.
The veteran leftist politician, widely known as Lula, also led the country from 2003 to 2010, defeating Jair Bolsonaro in last October’s election.
And he has imposed tight security measures in preparation for the ceremony, which takes place on Sunday, amid fears that Bolsonaro supporters will try to disrupt it.
As for Bolsonaro himself, he will not attend the ceremony, having left Brazil last Friday.
Huge crowds of Lula supporters have gathered since the early hours of the morning in front of Congress, adorned in the red of his party, the Workers’ Party. They have come to witness the inauguration of their leader and also to celebrate.
More than 60 artists – including samba legend Martino da Vila – will perform their songs in two gigantic arenas adorned with the national flag as part of the Lollapalooza music festival.
The words “Love Conquered Hate” appear on a banner held up by a man dressed as Lula – complete with presidential sash.
“Brazil needs this change, this transformation,” said another supporter of the incoming president as she lined up for Sunday’s celebrations.
Juliana Barreto – who hails from Lula’s hometown in Pernambuco state – told the BBC that her country was experiencing a “disaster” in the past.
image copyright Getty Images
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks to his supporters
The official festivities will begin at 2:30 pm local time (4:30 pm GMT), when Lula and incoming Vice President Geraldo Alcamin will parade through the city in an open car.
The two men had spent the last few days selecting cabinet members and appointing their supporters in major state corporations.
In a notable political shift from the Bolsonaro administration, Marina Silva – one of Brazil’s best-known climate activists – was reappointed as head of the Ministry of Environment and Climate. It is expected to meet Lula’s commitment to “zero deforestation” in the Amazon by 2030.
More than 300,000 people are expected in the capital to attend the inauguration ceremony, which will be held in Ministers Square, which houses the country’s parliament buildings.
The state of Brasilia has pledged to deploy its entire police force – some 8,000 police – to the city, amid fears that some Bolsonaro supporters will try to disrupt the ceremony.
It was reported that Bolsonaro himself flew to the US state of Florida after delivering a sad farewell speech to his supporters.
“We have a wonderful future ahead of us,” he said in a video posted on social media, “Battles may be lost, but we won’t lose the war.”
The populist outgoing president has repeatedly stated that he does not want to attend the inauguration of his successor, as he is expected to hand over the presidential sash as a sign of a smooth and stable transition of power.
Last week, police arrested a Bolsonaro supporter for allegedly planting explosives on a fuel truck near a capital airport on Christmas Eve. The man said he hoped to “sow chaos” before Lula took office.
Other supporters of the outgoing president have remained two camps outside the army headquarters, where they are calling on the army to carry out a military coup. Police tried to remove the protesters on Thursday but withdrew after they responded violently.
But Bolsonaro condemned the protests over his defeat in the elections, calling on his supporters to “show that we are different from the other side and that we respect the norms and the constitution”.
