The president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, received his credentials as the country’s future president on Monday, thus certifying that the elections held last October were legal and that the inauguration will take place on January 1.
Lula da Silva, as well as his future vice-president Geraldo Alckmin, received the credentials from the president of the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Alexandre de Moraes, in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the body in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia.
After receiving this certification, Lula delivered a speech in which he praised the «courage» of both the TSE and the Federal Supreme Court, who have had to face during the electoral process «all kinds of offenses, threats and aggressions to assert the sovereignty of the popular vote».
«The enemies of democracy cast doubt on the ballot boxes, whose reliability has long been recognized throughout the world», said Lula, who in turn denounced attempts to bribe voters and impediments to go to the polling stations, according to ‘O Globo’.
Thus, the future Brazilian president regretted that while the population was waiting for a «democratic political debate», they found a climate «poisoned with lies» arising from the «underworld of social networks».
«They sowed lies and hatred, and the country reaped a political violence that has only been seen in the saddest pages of our history. And yet, democracy won,» said an emotional Lula, who had to stop his speech in tears while the audience stood up to applaud him.
