One of the most awaited moments of the presidential inauguration on Sunday (1) in Brazil, the delivery of the sash, moved everyone in the Plaza of the Three Powers in Brasilia. Given Bolsonaro’s trip abroad shortly before the end of his mandate, there was much anticipation and speculation about who would pass the sash to Lula in the ceremony that traditionally takes place at the top of the ramp of the Planalto presidential palace.
Led by First Lady Janja da Silva, the inauguration organizing team opted for a series of symbolic gestures. A group of eight people representing Brazilian society climbed the ramp together with Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin. At the top of the ramp, the presidential sash changed hands until it was delivered to Lula by a black woman who works as a recyclables picker. The group also included a black child, a person with a disability, an internationally recognized indigenous leader, and people who attended the standing vigil during the 580 days Lula was imprisoned in Curitiba, in the southern state of Paraná, between 2018 and 2019.
The Brazilians who climbed the palace ramp and led the band from Lula, the 39th president of Brazil, are:
Francisco Carlos do Nascimento He is a 10-year-old black boy from the outskirts of the city of São Paulo. Like Lula, Francisco is a fan of Corinthians, a soccer club in his hometown. In 2019 the boy had been to Curitiba to participate in the vigil organized by protesters demanding the release of former president Lula, whom he had also met on another occasion in São Paulo. After seeing a feature film chronicling the president’s life, and with the attention and affection he received from him at the Christmas ceremony held for the recyclers, Francisco says he too could one day become president of Brazil.
Aline Sousa, 33, has been a recycler since she was 14, an occupation her family has held for three generations. A mother of seven, Sousa joined the Movimiento Nacional de Recicladores as a national coordinator in 2013, representing recyclers in the Federal District. She currently heads the National Secretariat for Women and Youth of the Unicatadores recyclers association. Her job was to receive the sash from others and place it on the shoulder of the new president.
At 90, the cacique Raoni Metuktire he dedicates his life to the defense of the Amazon and its indigenous peoples, and enjoys great recognition throughout the world. Born in the village of Kraimopry-yaka, he has traveled the world calling for peace.
Wesley Viesba Rodrigues Rocha, 36, has been a metallurgist in São Paulo since he was 18. Rocha is married and has two children. He graduated in Physical Education with the help of the FIES student loan program.
Murilo de Quadros Jesus, 28, is a licensed teacher of Portuguese and English and lives in Curitiba. He taught Portuguese as an additional language at Universidad de La Sabana, Bogotá, Colombia between 2016 and 2017 and was a Fulbright Scholar as a professor of Portuguese at Bluefield College, West Virginia between 2021 and 2022 .
Jucimara Fausto dos Santosa cook born in the state of Paraná, she devoted her life to cooking and voluntarily contributed to the vigils while Lula was imprisoned in Curitiba.
Electric influencer Ivan Baron is a young man from the state of Rio Grande do Norte suffering from cerebral palsy. He is a well-known voice in the Brazilian movement against internet disability and is hailed as an ambassador for inclusion. Baron shares educational content about rights, fun facts, and relevant topics in an effort to make both people with disabilities and the general public better informed and better able to combat prejudice.
Flavio Pereira, 50, was born in Pinhalão, Paraná. He works as a craftsman and even attended the vigil during Lula’s 580 days of captivity.
