(Rio de Janeiro) After a night of jubilation in Brazil, the main world leaders hailed the victory of Lula, who is preparing for a complicated mandate, his opponent Jair Bolsonaro having not yet recognized his defeat on Monday.
Posted at 6:59
The outgoing president remained walled in silence Monday morning at the dawn of a transition which must last until 1er January.
In Washington, President Joe Biden congratulated Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, with whom he says he “looks forward to working”. Same reaction in Moscow for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hopes for “constructive Russian-Brazilian cooperation”.
On the European side, the head of diplomacy Josep Borrell said he was “impatient” to work with Lula’s government. In a tweet, French President Emmanuel Macron hailed Lula’s victory, wishing to “renew the bond of friendship” between Paris and Brasilia.
In Beijing, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured that China is ready to take the partnership between the two countries to “a higher level”.
But the deafening silence of Jair Bolsonaro, defeated by a short head in the second round on Sunday (49.1% of the vote against 50.9%), and who must still govern for two months, is fraught with threats.
“Pacify the country”
“The worst that could happen would be for the Brazilians to go to bed without hearing the position of their president (Bolsonaro), which would cast doubt on his acceptance of the result” of the election, Leandro Consentino told AFP on Sunday evening, political scientist from the private Insper University of Sao Paulo.
However, the lights of the Alvorada Palace went out early Sunday evening and according to Lauro Jardim, a generally well-informed columnist for the daily O Globo, the defeated president refused any visit after the result and went to bed.
During the second round of the presidential election on Sunday, Luiz Inacio da Silva, apparently already anticipating difficulties, had wished that “the (outgoing) government be civilized to the point of understanding that it is necessary to make a good transfer of powers”.
Lula will have to bring together a Brazil battered by four years of tumultuous management by his predecessor, a country cut in two by the most polarized and brutal campaign in its recent history.
“Half the population is unhappy” with the result, notes Mr. Consentino, before adding: “It will be essential that Lula has the ability to reach out to those who did not vote for him and tell them that ‘he is the president of all’. “Lula will have to pacify the country,” said the analyst.
According to the president-elect, “there are not two Brazils”. “We are one people, one nation,” he said on Sunday.
far-right parliament
“I will govern for 215 million Brazilians, and not just those who voted for me,” Lula added. However, 58 million Brazilians voted against him.
“This country needs peace and unity”, insisted the icon of the left, because “nobody wants to live in a family where discord reigns”.
Lula will also have to deal with a Parliament that the legislative elections of October 2 have leaned more towards the radical right, the Liberal Party (PL) of Jair Bolsonaro having become the first formation in the Chamber of Deputies as in the Senate.
In presenting himself, Lula brought together a heterogeneous coalition of around ten formations around his Workers’ Party (PT).
He also chose a vice-president in the center, Geraldo Alckmin, a former opponent defeated in the 2006 presidential election, to seduce the moderate electorate and business circles.
“A Living Amazon”
Within two months, the future president must make announcements concerning the composition of his government.
Lula could welcome more diversity into his team: women – only one remains in the last Bolsonaro government – people of color, and indigenous people, one of whom is expected to head a newly minted ministry. created Aboriginal Affairs.
“Seeing Lula return to power gives us great hope,” said Vanda Witoto, a 32-year-old indigenous caregiver, met by AFP in Manaus, in the Amazon.
Lula’s government will also have to restore the means to organizations monitoring deforestation in the Amazon, very weakened by credit cuts, dismemberments and the total impunity of all kinds of traffickers.
“Brazil is ready to resume its leadership in the fight against the climate crisis […] Brazil and the planet need a living Amazon,” Lula said.
In reaction to its victory, Norway announced on Monday its intention to resume its financial aid against the deforestation of the Amazon, frozen under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro.
Another major challenge for Lula, who will have to finance the social policies promised without the growth of his previous mandates: the finances of the Brazilian state have been weighed down after the distribution, for electoral purposes, of tens of billions of reals in aid. by the outgoing president.