Just minutes after taking office as the new president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro delivered a resounding speech before the Brazilian Parliament, in which he promised to free the country from the evils that, in his eyes, plunged her into “the greatest ethical and moral crisis in her history.”
“I call on each of the congressmen to help me in the mission of restoring and re-erecting our country, freeing it from the yoke of corruption, criminality, economic irresponsibility and ideological submission,” proclaimed the 63-year-old former soldier. Who become the 38th president of the largest Latin American power.
In another of the passages of his speech, the president said: “We are going to unite the people, to value the family, to respect the religions and our Judeo-Christian traditions, to combat the ideology of gender, conserving our values.” “Brazil will once again be a country free of ideological ties,” he added.
These statements come at a time, when throughout the world, women have gained unprecedented prominence in the struggle for their rights, complaints of sexual abuse, equal pay and opportunities. In Brazil, it was also the women who, during the electoral campaign, staged the largest demonstrations against Bolsonaro under the slogan #EleNao.
The new president, who is controversial because of his racist, macho and homophobic statements, also said that he will promote the development of “good schools” to prepare new generations for “the labour market and not for political militancy.”
He also promised that during his term he will attend to Brazilians who “want to get good jobs and support their families on merit” and “demand” health, infrastructure and “respect for fundamental rights.”
“Order and progress (…) no society develops without respecting those precepts,” said Bolsonaro, referring to the motto that reads on the Brazilian flag. He also affirmed that they will honour “those who sacrifice their lives in the name of security” in their government, in reference to the State Security Forces and Corps. “They deserve it and must be respected,” he added.
Finally, and before heading to the Planalto Palace, the president closed with his well-known phrase: “Brazil above all and God above all.”
The presidents of Bolivia, Evo Morales, attended the ceremony, held in the Senate Chamber; Chile, Sebastián Piñera; Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández; Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benítez, and Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez. Also, the prime ministers of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu; Hungary, Viktor Orbán; and Morocco, Saadedine Othmani; as well as the presidents of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza; and Cabo Verde, Jorge Carlos Fonseca, among other authorities.
