President Lula (PT) opened this Thursday morning (7), in Brasília, the celebrations of the first Independence Day of his third term with institutional and political messages and a “climate” within the government after the ministerial reform announced the day before.
The PT member was accompanied in the tribune of honor by the heads of other Powers – the president of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), Rosa Weber, and the president of the National Congress, senator Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) -, after a tumultuous institutional relationship between the Executive under Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
O The event also featured Zé Gotinha, mascot for vaccination campaignsin yet another counterpoint to the former president, and repercussions on the signs of dissatisfaction from Lula’s allies with the ministerial changes to expand the centrão’s spaces in the government.
After Ana Moser expresses “sadness and consternation” with her dismissal from Sport To give the seat to André Fufuca (PP), Lula’s ministers tried to mitigate dissatisfaction and downplayed the government’s official statement the day before – which did not even thank her, as is common when allies leave.
Vice Geraldo Alckmin and Márcio França (PSB), one of those affected by the ministerial reform, were also present. He left the Ports and Airports portfolio, given to the Republicans, to head the new Ministry of Micro and Small Businesses.
The exchange was preceded by irritation from França, who, at the end of the night, said on social media that Lula was bringing the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), and his party to support the government.
Tarcísio is an ally and former minister of Bolsonaro, the PT member’s main rival, and France’s message was interpreted by allies as irony.
During the ceremony, França did not leave his seat and remained isolated in the tribune, while ministers and other authorities approached Lula at different times.
At the event in Brasília, Lula reviewed the troops and then drove to the grandstand. Throughout the parade, women members of the government broke protocol and positioned themselves alongside Lula. First lady Rosângela Silva, Janja, the wife of the vice-president, Lu Alckmin, and ministers Anielle Franco (Racial Equality), Nisia Trindade (Health), Simone Tebet (Planning) and Sonia Guajajara (Indigenous Peoples) joined to the Chief Executive in the first row, where Rosa Weber was also present.
In the wake of the ministerial reform, the president stood up from his place on the stand and, in front of the podium of authorities, hugged Minister Wellington Dias (Social Development), preserved after having his position speculated on the changes. Paulo Pimenta (Secom) and Rui Costa (Casa Civil) were also with them.
Unlike previous years, the event was not marked by political demonstrations by the public. A portion of people wore red clothes or with some symbol in reference to Lula, but this was not the predominant profile of those who attended the parade. In the stands, the public used accessories such as flags and caps in green and yellow, but some of the items were distributed by the organization.
O mascot Zé Gotinha drew applause from the public in his parade on the Fire Department truck and had his name shouted by the children when his image appeared on the screens.
With packed stands, with less presence of green and yellow colors compared to the ceremonies with Bolsonaro, part of the public was barred and followed the parade on big screens outside the restricted area. The security guards tried to contain the advance of the public in the opening of the barriers.
On the Esplanade, families lifted their children onto the fences so they could watch the event from a distance. Housewife Karine Lemos, 44, brought her 4-year-old daughter to her first fashion show and criticized the site’s security scheme. “It’s sad, this lot of bars, of course there is the issue of security, but that’s not the end of it. You need to trust people, trust the core of the population. Many bars make it seem like we are animals. Even more so on the 7th of September, when there should be trust in the Brazilian”, he said.
The Lula administration also seeks to give new meaning to the historic date, after Bolsonaro used it throughout his term as a sign of strength and proximity to the Armed Forces, in addition to taking advantage of the large concentration of supporters to give speeches with coup theories.
The ceremony’s slogan was “democracy, sovereignty and unity”. In his speech on radio and television, the night before September 7th, Lula said that in eight months his government had put Brazil back on the path to democracy. And he also made a sign to try to break through political polarization.
“Therefore, tomorrow will not be a day of hate or fear, but of unity. The day to remember that Brazil is one. That we dream the same dreams”, stated the president.
“That we may have different accents, support different teams, follow different religions, have a preference for this or that candidate, but we are the same great nation, a unique and extraordinary people”, he added.
Another objective of the organizers was to ociate the concept of democracy with the Armed Forces, which found themselves the target of criticism, suspicion and investigations after the invasion of Congress, the STF and the Palácio do Planalto on January 8th.
In the early afternoon, Lula leaves for India to participate in the G20 summit.