Brazilian President-designate Lula held a series of political talks in Brasilia on Wednesday, two months before taking office for a third term, calling for the return of “dialogue” and “normality” in a Brazil cut in two.
The icon of the left Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva first met the influential president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, ex-ally of the defeated far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
“The country needs dialogue and normality,” Lula tweeted, posting a video where he is seen being welcomed by Mr. Lira in Brasilia. He was apparently referring to the four crisis-ridden years of Jair Bolsonaro’s term in office and the daggers drawn election campaign that has polarized Brazil.
Lula also spoke with the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, in the presence of his future vice-president Geraldo Alckmin, in charge of coordinating the transition team.
Lula, 77, resumed his activities after a week of vacation, following the second round of the presidential election on October 30, which he won with only 1.8 points ahead of Bolsonaro.
“It is possible to find harmony between the powers, to find the normality of coexistence between Brazilian institutions, which have been abused by the not always recommendable language of certain authorities linked to the government,” he told the press. journalists at the end of the day.
Priority of Lula’s discussions with the leaders of Congress: finding a way to obtain a significant budget extension to finance his electoral promises from January 1, the date of his entry into office.
One of the solutions considered would be a constitutional amendment, but Mr Alckmin insisted that no decision had been made.
Congressional support will be essential in order to approve exceptional expenditures for the payment of social assistance programs.
Lula also met with the President of the Supreme Court, Rosa Weber, and the President of the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Alexandre de Moraes, two institutions that have been violently attacked by Bolsonaro.
“Brazil doesn’t have time to keep fighting anymore,” Lula said. “The time is not for revenge, rage or hatred. It is time to govern,” he added.
The transition team was put in place quickly in Brasilia, with in particular the announcement on Tuesday of the choice of a quartet of economists – two liberals and two close to Lula’s Workers’ Party – while Simone Tebet, a centrist who came 3rd in the presidential election, will be responsible for coordinating the social component.
Meanwhile, President Bolsonaro, officially still in office, was also in Brasilia, but walled in his palace, invisible and silent for a week.