Lula takes office for third term as Brazil president
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office for a third term as Brazil's president, vowing to fight for the poor and the environment and "rebuild the country" after far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro's divisive administration.
The 77-year-old veteran leftist, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, took the oath of office before Congress.
Giving a blistering overview of the past four years under Bolsonaro -- who snubbed the ceremony, in a break with tradition -- Lula said his government would work to undo a legacy of economic decline, funding cuts in health, education and science, and the "stupidity" of plundering the nation's resources for private gain.
"Upon these terrible ruins, I pledge to rebuild the country together with the Brazilian people," he said, vowing to fight to improve life for poor Brazilians, work toward racial and gender equality, and achieve zero deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, where destruction surged under Bolsonaro.
"The mandate we received, in the face of opponents inspired by fascism, will be defended through our democratic constitution. We will respond to hate with love, to lies with the truth, to terrorism and violence with the law."
The swearing-in began with a minute of silence for Brazilian football legend Pele and former pope Benedict XVI, who both died in recent days.
Tens of thousands of red-clad supporters cheered loudly as their motorcade slowly rolled down Brasilia's Esplanade of Ministries, escorted by dozens of bodyguards.
