Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva giving a speech after becoming the president-elect of Brazil. File photo.
On Sunday, October 30, after being elected president of Brazil, Lula called for unity and promised a government committed to building real democracy.
“Starting January 1, 2023, I will govern for 215 million Brazilians,” Lula said in São Paulo, in his first speech after being elected the president of Brazil, garnering more than 60 million votes, the highest number of votes received by a candidate in the country’s history.
“We are one country, one people, one great nation,” Lula continued. “It is time to bring families back together, to remake the broken bonds of friendship… This country needs peace and unity.”
Before reading out the speech prepared for this “historic October 30,” Lula thanked God and “every comrade and every companion who played an important role in the campaign, especially the people who came in the second round.”
Then, accompanied by political leaders representing the broad democratic front that has united around the Lula-Alckmin ticket, the president-elect began reading the speech, in a room filled with journalists from all over the world.
He began by stating that the elections have “one and only great winner: the Brazilian people. This is not a victory for me, or for the PT [Workers’ Party], or for the parties that supported me in this campaign. It is the victory of an immense democratic movement that was formed above political parties, personal interests, and ideologies, so that democracy would come out the winner.”
Lula then explained what he considers to be real democracy. He stressed that democracy is more than the right to protest against hunger, unemployment, and insufficient wages. Democracy is people living well and eating well.
“This is how I understand democracy,” he said. “Not just a beautiful word written in law, but something tangible that we feel in our skin and that we can build on a daily basis. And it is this democracy that we will try to build every day of our term.”
That is why the fight against hunger will be, once again, the priority of his new government. Additionally, he will emphasize the creation of jobs, increasing the minimum wage, the resumption of Minha Casa Minha Vida (PMCMV), a federal housing program created during Lula’s last term in 2009, and support to small businesses and small entrepreneurs. He also plans to underscore respect for the environment and the search for re-industrialization efforts that are in line with sustainable development, as well as the significance of health, education, science, and culture.
He concluded by saying that he will need the help of all of Brazilian society to achieve these goals. “I say again what I said throughout the whole campaign. This was never a simple electoral promise, but rather a profession of faith, a life commitment: Brazil has a way. All together, we will be able to fix this country and build a Brazil the size of our dreams—with opportunities to turn those dreams into reality.”
A transcript of Lula’s speech is provided below.
My friends,
We have reached the end of one of the most important elections in our history: an election that brought two opposing directions for the country face to face, and that today has only one great winner: the Brazilian people.
This is not a victory for me, or for the PT, or for the parties that supported me in this campaign. It is the victory of a huge democratic movement that was formed above political parties, personal interests, and ideologies, so that democracy could come out the winner.
On this historic October 30, the majority of the Brazilian people made it very clear that they want more democracy, not less.
They want more social inclusion and opportunities for all, not less. They want more respect and understanding among Brazilians, not less. In short, they want more freedom, equality, and fraternity in our country, not less.
The Brazilian people have shown today that they want more than exercising the sacred right to choose who will govern their lives. They want to actively participate in the decisions of the government.
The Brazilian people showed today that they want more than just the right to protest that they are hungry, that there are no jobs, that their salary is insufficient to live with dignity, that they don’t have access to healthcare and education, that they lack a roof over their heads to live and raise their children safely, that there are no prospects for the future.
The Brazilian people want to live well, eat well. They want a good job, a salary always adjusted above inflation; they want quality healthcare and public education.
They want religious freedom. They want books instead of guns. They want to go to the theater, watch movies, and have access to culture, because culture feeds our soul.
The Brazilian people want to have hope back.
This is how I understand democracy. Not just as a beautiful word written in law, but as something tangible that we feel in our skin and that we can build on a daily basis.
It was this democracy, in the broadest sense of the term, that the Brazilian people chose today at the polls. It was this democracy—real, concrete—to which we committed throughout our campaign.
And it is this democracy that we will try to build every day of our term, with economic growth shared among the entire population, because this is how the economy should work: as an instrument to improve everyone’s lives, and not to perpetuate inequalities.
The wheel of the economy will start turning again, with job creation, wage increases, and the renegotiation of the debts of families who have lost their purchasing power.
The wheel of the economy will turn again with the poor being included in the budget. With support for small and medium-sized rural producers, responsible for 70% of the food that comes to our tables.
With all possible incentives for micro and small entrepreneurs, so that they can put their extraordinary creative potential at the service of the country’s development.
It is necessary to go further: to strengthen the policies to combat violence against women, and to ensure that women earn equal salaries as men for equal work; to fight relentlessly against racism, prejudice, and discrimination, so that whites, blacks, and indigenous people have equal rights and opportunities.
Only in this way will we be able to build a country for all: an egalitarian Brazil, whose priority is the people who need it most.
A Brazil with peace, democracy, and opportunities.
My friends,
Starting January 1, 2023, I will govern for 215 million Brazilians, and not just for those who voted for me. There are not two Brazils. We are one country, one people, one great nation.
It is of no interest to anyone to live in a family where discord reigns. It is time to bring families back together, to rebuild the bonds of friendship broken by the criminal spread of hate.
No one is interested in living in a divided country, in a permanent state of war.
This country needs peace and unity. The people do not want to fight anymore. The people are tired of seeing the other as an enemy to be feared or destroyed.
It is time to put down the weapons that should never have been raised. Guns kill, and we choose life.
The challenge is immense. This country must be rebuilt in all its dimensions: in politics, in economy, in public administration, in institutional harmony, in international relations and, above all, in caring for the most needy.
It is necessary to rebuild the very soul of this country. To recover generosity, solidarity, respect for differences, and love for one’s neighbor.
It is necessary to bring back the joy of being Brazilian, and the pride we have always had in the green-yellow and in our country’s flag: this green-yellow and this flag that belongs to no one but the Brazilian people.
Our most urgent commitment is to end hunger again. We cannot accept as normal that millions of men, women, and children in this country do not have enough to eat, or that they consume fewer calories and proteins than necessary.
If we are the third largest food producer in the world and the first in animal protein, if we have technology and a huge amount of arable land, if we are able to export food to the whole world, then we have the duty to guarantee that every Brazilian can have breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.
This will be, once again, the number one commitment of our government.
We cannot accept as normal that entire families are forced to sleep in the streets, exposed to cold, rain, and violence.
That is why we will resume Minha Casa Minha Vida with priority for low-income families and bring back the inclusion programs that lifted 36 million Brazilians out of extreme poverty.
Brazil can no longer live in this immense bottomless pit, this wall of concrete and inequality that separates Brazil into unequal parts that do not recognize each other. This country needs to recognize itself. It needs to reconnect with itself.
Beyond fighting extreme poverty and hunger, let’s reestablish dialogue in this country.
It is necessary to resume dialogue with the legislative and judiciary branches of the government without attempts to exaggerate, intervene, control, or co-opt, but to seek to rebuild harmonious and republican coexistence among the three branches of power.
Democratic normality is enshrined in the constitution. It establishes the rights and obligations of each power, each institution, the armed forces, and each one of us.
The constitution governs our collective existence, and nobody—absolutely nobody—is above it. Nobody has the right to ignore it or to defy it.
It is also more than urgent to resume the dialogue between the people and the government.
That is why we will bring back the national conferences. So that those interested can elect their priorities and present suggestions to the government for public policies for each area: education, health, security, women’s rights, racial equality, youth, housing, and others.
We will resume the dialogue with governors and mayors to define together the projects to prioritize for each state.
It does not matter to which party the governors or the mayors belong. Our commitment will always be to improve the lives of the people in each state, in each municipality of this country.
We will also reestablish the dialogue among government, entrepreneurs, business-owners, workers, and civil society, with the return of the Economic and Social Development Council.
In other words, the major political decisions that impact the lives of 215 million Brazilians will not be taken in secret, in the dead of night, but after a broad dialogue with society.
I believe that the main problems of Brazil, of the world, of the human being, can be solved with dialogue, and not with brute force.
Let no one doubt the power of the word when it comes to seeking understanding and the common good.
My friends,
In my international trips and in the contact I have had with leaders from several countries, what I hear most is that the world misses Brazil.
Longing for that sovereign Brazil which spoke on equal terms with the richest and most powerful countries, and that at the same time contributed to the development of the poorer countries.
The Brazil that supported the development of African countries, through cooperation, investment, and technology transfer.
The Brazil that worked for the integration of South America, Latin America, and the Caribbean; that strengthened Mercosur, and helped to create the G-20, UNASUR, CELAC, and BRICS.
Today we declare to the world that Brazil is back. That Brazil is too big to be relegated to this sad role of pariah of the world.
We are going to win back the credibility, the predictability, and the stability of the country, so that investors—domestic and foreign—can regain confidence in Brazil. So that they stop seeing our country as a source of immediate and predatory profit, and start being our partners in the resumption of economic growth with social inclusion and environmental sustainability.
We want fairer international trade. We want to resume our partnerships with the United States and the European Union on new bases. We are not interested in trade agreements that condemn our country to the eternal role of exporter of primary goods and raw materials.
We will re-industrialize Brazil, invest in the green and digital economies, and support the creativity of our business-owners and entrepreneurs. We want to export knowledge as well.
We will fight again for a new global governance, with the inclusion of more countries in the UN Security Council and with the end of the right to veto, which undermines the balance between nations.
We are ready to re-engage in the fight against hunger and inequality in the world, and in efforts to promote peace among peoples.
Brazil is ready to resume being a protagonist in the fight against the climate crisis, protecting all our biomes, especially the Amazon rainforest.
Under our government, we were able to reduce deforestation in the Amazon by 80%, considerably reducing the emission of gases that cause global warming.
Now, let’s fight for zero deforestation in the Amazon.
Brazil and the planet need a living Amazon. A standing tree is worth more than tons of wood illegally extracted by those who think only of easy profit, at the expense of the deterioration of life on earth.
A river with clean water is worth much more than all the gold extracted at the expense of mercury that kills fauna and puts human life at risk.
When an indigenous child dies, murdered by the greed of the predators of the environment, a part of humanity dies along with it.
That is why we will resume the monitoring and surveillance of the Amazon, and combat any and all illegal activities—be it illegal mining, logging, timber extraction, or undue occupation by cattle ranchers.
At the same time, we will promote the sustainable development of the communities that live in the Amazon region. We will prove once again that it is possible to generate wealth without destroying the environment.
We are open to international cooperation to preserve the Amazon, whether in the form of investment or scientific research, but always under Brazil’s leadership, without ever renouncing our sovereignty.
We are committed to the indigenous peoples, to the other peoples of the forest, and to biodiversity. We want environmental pacification.
We are not interested in a war for the environment, but we are ready to defend it from any threat.
My friends,
The new Brazil that we will build as of January 1 is of interest not only to the Brazilian people, but to all people who work for peace, solidarity, and fraternity, anywhere in the world.
Last Wednesday, Pope Francis sent an important message to Brazil, praying that the Brazilian people will be free from hatred, intolerance, and violence.
I want to say that we wish the same, and we will work tirelessly for a Brazil where love prevails over hate, truth conquers lies, and hope is greater than fear.
Every day of my life, I remember the greatest teaching of Jesus Christ, which is love for your neighbor. That is why I believe that the most important virtue of a good ruler will always be love—for his country, and for his people.
As far as we are concerned, there will be no lack of love in this country. We will take great care of Brazil and the Brazilian people. We will live in a new time. Of peace, love, and hope.
A time when the Brazilian people will once again have the right to dream, and opportunities to turn their dreams into reality.
For this, I invite each and every Brazilian, regardless of which candidate he or she voted for in this election, more than ever, to work together for Brazil, looking more at what unites us than at our differences.
I know the magnitude of the mission that history has reserved for me, and I know that I will not be able to accomplish it alone. I will need everyone—political parties, workers, business-owners, congresspeople, governors, mayors, people of all religions—Brazilians who dream of a more developed, more just, and more fraternal Brazil.
I will say again what I said throughout the entire campaign. That which was never a simple promise for a candidate, but rather a profession of faith, a life commitment: Brazil has a way. All of us together will be able to fix this country, and build a Brazil the size of our dreams, with opportunities to transform those dreams into reality.
Once again, I renew my eternal gratitude to the Brazilian people. A huge embrace, and may God bless our journey.
(Partido dos Trabalhadores)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KZ/SC
