Jan 03, 2023

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Lula) Reassumes Brazilian Presidency

Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.

Lula reassumed the Brazilian presidency on Sunday in an elaborate inauguration in Brasilia complete with a motorcade, music festivals, and hundreds of thousands of his supporters. Lula, 77, was president from 2003 to 2011 and had an 80% approval rating when he left office. He then served 580 days in prison from 2018 to 2019 on corruption charges which the Brazilian Supreme Court later overturned after they determined that the judge in Lula's case was biased.

Meanwhile, on Friday of last week, the outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro, fled to Orlando, Florida with his family and aids with plans to stay in Florida for at least a month. After losing the election, Bolsonaro refused to concede the election and remained silent for weeks before issuing a brief statement as he left for Florida.

Bolsonaro, 67, and his sons are linked to five separate investigations and now that he is a private citizen, he will lose prosecutorial immunity he had as president. Some corruption cases against him will be moved from the Supreme Court to local courts. Florida has become somewhat of a destination for right-wing Brazilians in recent years (sort of sounds familiar).

Thousands of Mr. Bolsonaro's supporters remain camped outside of army bases convinced that the military would prevent Lula from taking office, referring to the 1964 military coup that ushered in the dictatorship. The new head of the Brazilian army has indicated that they intend to disperse the week's long protests outside of the army bases.