SAO PAULO (AP) — Trumpets and snares will play Brazil’s national anthem at the swearing-in of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Jan. 1. Then, a different song will be heard on the streets, the lyrics of which point to the outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro. .
“It’s time for Jair, it’s time for Jair…to go!” says the letter. “Pack your bags, hit the road and go!”
When Lula achieved his electoral victory over Bolsonaro on October 30, tens of thousands of people sang the familiar tune throughout the night, sending the song to the top of the Spotify chart in Brazil and showing a way that many Brazilians do not they are ready to extend it. olive branches
Healing Brazil’s divided society will be easier said than done. Lula’s cabinet appointments so far favoring leftists and stalwarts in his Workers’ Party are alienating those who trusted the divisive 77-year-old to rule alongside moderates, and who joined forces after Bolsonaro repeatedly tested the railings of the world’s fourth largest democracy.
“Ruling Brazil means dealings with agribusiness, evangelicals, Bolsonaro’s former allies. It can be frustrating for half-hearted Lula voters, but that’s what they have before them,” said Carlos Melo, a professor of political science at Insper University in Sao Paulo.
Of course, Bolsonaro’s far-right supporters are not the picture of post-election bonhomie. Many reject the results of the vote and remain camped out in front of military buildings across the country, demanding that Lula’s inauguration be prevented.
Brazil’s October elections were the closest in more than three decades, pitting two arch-rivals against each other. In Lula’s victory speech on October 30, he declared that “there are no two Brazils” as tens of thousands gathered outside his hotel in Sao Paulo to celebrate his victory and Bolsonaro’s defeat.
A hopeful sign for Lula’s bridge-building ambitions came days later, when leftists and moderates once again donned the nation’s yellow soccer jersey to cheer on their team at the World Cup. For nearly a decade, the T-shirt has been an anti-leftist symbol and often appears at anti-Lula and pro-Bolsonaro protests.
Lula and his allies also wore the yellow shirt, in an effort to recover it; he posted photos of himself on social media and said green and yellow “are the colors of 213 million people who love this country.” Salesman Elias Gaspar said the yellow jerseys began to fly off his rack as the team’s outlandish performances filtered through.
“Before the World Cup, I sold an average of six blue and four yellow jerseys out of ten,” Gaspar, 43, said on December 4. “Now it’s almost all yellow.”
Soccer was a short-lived unifying force. Brazil exited the tournament earlier than expected after an upset loss on penalties to Croatia in the quarterfinals, with most Brazilians putting their jerseys back in their drawers. Bolsonaro’s supporters are the only ones still wearing the national colors.
Lula has avoided stoking tensions, largely refraining from public attacks on Bolsonaro or his supporters, instead focusing his speeches on helping the most disadvantaged Brazilians once he returns to the post he held from 2003 to 2010. Sometimes, however, us against them. the comments have escaped her lips. On December 22, when announcing new ministers, he said that Bolsonarismo is still alive and angry among those who refuse to concede electoral defeat, so it must be defeated in the streets of Brazil.
For the defense minister post, Lula chose conservative José Múcio Monteiro after four years of efforts by Bolsonaro to ensure the loyalty of the armed forces.
Other Lula appointments seem crafted to please his base and party, such as Anielle Franco, sister of slain Rio de Janeiro city councilor Marielle Franco, for minister of racial equality. He also appointed his former ally Aloizio Mercadante to head the country’s development bank, precisely the kind of post business leaders hoped would stay out of the hands of the Workers’ Party.
Gleisi Hoffmann, president of Lula’s Workers’ Party, said building a cabinet would be challenging even if Lula only selected progressives. Complicating the decisions further is the fact that some would-be ministers are likely 2026 presidential candidates, as Lula has indicated he will not run for re-election.
“We have our differences within the Workers’ Party, now imagine what happens when we bring in a dozen other parties,” Hoffmann said on his social media channels on December 16. “It’s a puzzle, it takes time.”
That may help explain why the number of ministries will almost double, to 37.
The centrist endorsement of former environment minister Marina Silva and Simone Tebet, who finished third in the first round of the presidential race, drew votes from Brazil’s moderates, a demographic that has distrusted Lula since the extensive corruption investigation de Lava Jato landed him in jail in 2018. With his support, he beat Bolsonaro by less than two percentage points. Many expected them to be quickly announced as ministers, but negotiations have dragged on.
Thomas Traumann, a political consultant, said the delays reflect the fact that the president-elect has played a central role in the position negotiations.
“People who helped him, like Marina and Simone, will be shorter than if they were named shortly after he won,” Traumann said. “Lula’s luck is that moderates will view his administration as many left-wing Democrats view (US President Joe) Biden: they may not like what they see, but it’s better than the alternative.”
Biden’s attempt to close the political chasm could offer an instructive, if daunting, model, said Brian Ott, a communication professor at Missouri State University who has researched the stratifying impact of social media on American political discourse.
Early in his presidency, Biden did not shy away from the fact that he was ruling a polarized country and played on his bona fides as a throwback to a different era in which Democrats and Republicans could fight in the Senate before taking notice of the dining room to negotiate commitments.
“The problem facing Biden and the problem facing politicians in 51% of countries like Brazil is that there may no longer be smart strategies to deliver big messages without alienating your base,” Ott said. “We are now in a period where politics is so intensely and deeply culturally divided, where people don’t have to be exposed to different points.”
On December 22, Lula appointed 16 ministers, bringing his total so far to 21. Neither Tebet nor Silva are among them.
“It’s harder to build a government than it is to win elections,” he said, advising his appointees to hire staff from diverse backgrounds. “We are trying to make a government that, to the extent possible, represents the political forces that participated in our campaign.”
He added that people who helped and have not yet been named will be counted, and owed a debt for “daring to stick their necks out to confront fascism.”
Still, many new Lula voters are already inclined to jump ship. One is Thereza Bittencourt, 65, who spoke at a military club in Rio and said the initial signs of her concern her.
“I received a lot of criticism from my friends at the club because I voted for Lula. They all elected Bolsonaro. I told them that the management of the economy would be better,” Bittencourt said as he sipped his caipirinha. “If I only see members of the Workers’ Party in the government, goodbye.” ___
Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
