In speech, Lula fosters dialogue with Congress, vows to rule “for all”

President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva today (Nov. 10) met with Congress members from allied parties and said he wants to keep an open dialogue with Congress as well as all parties from across the political spectrum. Lula was for the first time at the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center (CCBB), in Brasília, where the transition office has been installed.

“Representatives may rest assured we will talk with the National Congress. Congress has all the flaws we have, but this country was much worse when Congress was closed,” he said, in reference to the period of military dictatorship. “A nervous debate about our differences is better than the silence brought by the fear of the bayonet that this country has faced in the past,” he declared.

Lula reinforced that the selection of officials working in the government transition period is no indication of who should lead the ministries in his administration, and he asked for everyone’s collaboration sending in proposals and ideas. “If anyone wants to contribute, send proposals, please don’t feel left out if you’re not on the list of people who are participating in the transition,” he told the lawmakers in attendance. “Each party plays an important role. We’re starting a process,” he went on to say.

Yesterday (9), Lula held meetings with lower house speaker Arthur Lira and Rodrigo Pacheco, head of the Brazilian Senate, as well as Supreme Court Justices and Justice Alexandre de Moraes, head of the Superior Electoral Court. “We are here to prove that we want to foster dialogue among political parties,” he said, highlighting that he will also keep the door open for associations and social movements.

The president-elect also stated he wants to bring stability, credibility, and predictability to the Brazilian government, adding that the nation will once again play a leading role in global geopolitics. On Monday (14), Lula is expected to travel to Egypt, where he should take place in the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP27) and bilateral talks.

President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and vice-President-elect Geraldo Alckmin during a meeting with Congress members from supporting parties at the government transition office at CCBB in Brasília – Marcelo Camargo / Agência Brasil

An end to hunger

Lula seemed emotional while talking about the return of hunger in Brazil and restated the issue will be a priority in his administration. “By the time my term is over, if every Brazilian is having breakfast and eating lunch and dinner again, I will have fulfilled my life’s mission,” he said. “The fact is, I’d never expected hunger to come back in this country. When I left the presidency, I assumed that in ten years’ time this country would be equal to France, or England, presuming it’d have evolved in terms of social achievements,” he noted.

In his view, Brazil—the world’s third largest food producer and the number-one producer of animal protein—can bring food to the table of every citizen. “The government lacks the commitment to do this, vital tough it is. Why do the same people who discuss the spending cap not discuss the social issue facing this country?” he questioned, at the same time as he pledged to implement a sound fiscal policy.

Demonstrations

In his speech, Lula also directly addressed the protesters who are in the streets “dissatisfied with the outcome of the elections,” and urged them to return home and accept democracy. His government, he argued, will be “for everyone.” “That’s what democracy is, one side wins and the other side loses. It’s like that in politics anywhere,” he said, pointing out that he lost three presidential races before being elected for the first time in 2002.

In reference to the report released yesterday (9) by the Ministry of Defense on voting machines, he said the duty to audit and supervise elections belongs to civil society, political parties, and Congress—not the Armed Forces. The document includes remarks and conclusions about the electronic voting system. In the letter in which Defense Minister Paulo Sérgio Nogueira asks that the military’s suggestions be accepted, the minister lists technical aspects that may be corrected, including efforts to further look into the compilation of the system’s source code and the binary codes executed in the electronic ballot boxes.

Today, the Ministry of Defense released a note aimed to “prevent the misinterpretation of the report’s content.” According to the ministry, “the accurate work of the team of military technicians in the inspection of the electronic voting system, even though it found no fraud or inconsistency in the electronic voting machines and in the 2022 elections, also did not exclude the possibility of their existence.” According to the Defense, the report is said to have pointed out “important aspects” requiring clarification.