‘It’s going to be fierce’: Brazil gears up for ‘Lulapalooza’ as new leader begins reign with huge party | Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

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They’re describing it as a Lulapalooza – a massive explosion of Brazilian politics and dance – and Mayse Freitas won’t be missed to the world.

“I think it will be the greatest show on earth… It will be the happiest day of my life,” said the social activist from Complexo do Alemão, one of the largest favelas in Rio, as she prepared for the festivities.

The source of her happiness is the departure of conservative Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and the extraordinary political revival of his left-wing successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who will take power on Sunday during the magnificent concert in the capital, Brasilia.

“It’s going to be brutal,” said Freitas, 64, one of the hundreds of thousands of Lulistas who flock to the event from across Latin America’s largest country. “I’m not one to cry but I think I’ll have to take a sedative to control the emotions I’m going to have.”

Progressive jubilation at Brazil’s new beginning is tempered by the loss of soccer king Pele, whose memorial service will be held Monday in the city of Santos after three days of official mourning.

Bolsonaro, who last week declared a period of mourning, paid tribute to the man who “turned football into art and joy,” while Lula tweeted: “There has never been a number 10 like him.”

However, Freitas’ thoughts were turning to what many hope will be a brighter future under the president-elect, who narrowly defeated his rival in the October elections.

“If it weren’t for one of us. If it wasn’t for a human being,” she said, recalling the social progress of his two-term presidency, from 2003 to 2010, when the policies Lula spearheaded helped downtrodden slum dwellers improve their lot. Years.”

Freitas isn’t the only Brazilian harboring such sentiments.

For many of the 60 million citizens who voted for Bolsonaro to sack office, the former paratrooper’s defeat was a pivotal victory over an ambitious autocrat bent on wrecking Brazil’s young democracy, as well as its international reputation.

“This is a historic and unique moment,” said Jonas de Andrade, 29, a journalist and activist who is also heading to Lulapalooza to celebrate the politician he credits with helping him become the first member of his family to attend university.

“This was a very difficult four years during which we went into survival mode – especially in the favelas,” Andrade said. “Bolsonaro represents the past: a past of oppression, colonialism, enslavement of bodies and minds, violence, hostility and genocide.”

Abroad, there is also relief at the return of Lula, the moderate left-winger from the Labor Party (PT), whose political career seemed dead and buried when he was jailed in 2018 on corruption charges that were later quashed.

Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with Sonia Guajara, candidate for the post of Minister of Indigenous Peoples, on December 29. Photograph: Adriano Machado/Reuters

More than 60 high-level delegations are due to attend Lula’s inauguration, compared with 18 when Bolsonaro took power – a sign of global relief at the exit of a radical leader whose attack on the Amazon made Brazil an international pariah.

The guest list includes Spain’s King Felipe, the presidents of Germany and Portugal, and Latin American leaders including Argentina’s Alberto Fernandez, Bolivia’s Luis Arce, Chile’s Gabriel Boric, Colombia’s Gustavo Petro and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, whose election helped rehabilitate him internationally. To succeed the leftists in the region.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to pay a state visit in early 2023.

Some of Brazil’s top artists are also heading to Brasilia to sing in their country’s new age, among them drag queen Pablo Vitar, sambista Martinho da Vila, and Amazon star Gaby Amarantos.

“My heart is full of hope,” said Amarantos, who believes Lula’s return will lead to a “cultural revival” that will once again make Brazilians proud of their nationality after four years of international disgrace under Bolsonaro.

“There is a lot to rebuild,” she added. “But now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

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However, there is concern that there may be extremist attacks on Lula’s Day on January 1.

Freitas, who met Lula when he moved his campaign to the Complexo do Alemão, said she worried about being targeted by pro-Bolsonaro fanatics in Brasilia. Her relatives urged her not to go.

“What happens if Bolsonarista gets on the bus trying to deceive everyone and does something?” Her seven-year-old grandson was worried.

Lula, who has urged allies not to travel to his inauguration in his normally-used Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith convertible, tried to mollify supporters, dismissing the notion that the festivities would be marred by right-wing “rants.”

“Don’t worry about all the noise. Those who lost the election need to break down – and those who won have the right to have a big party,” Lula said on Thursday.

When he became Brazil’s first working-class president in January 2003, a global goods boom allowed the former union leader to enact social programs that helped millions escape poverty. Lula left office in 2010 with such high approval ratings that prompted Barack Obama to call him “the most popular politician on Earth”.

Two decades later, economic prospects are less promising and Brazilian society is deeply divided, with many families divided over their support for Lula or Bolsonaro.

“It’s going to take time for him to get things back on track more or less,” Freitas said. “It’s as if your clothes were ripped off: just putting them back on your body won’t fix them. You have to sew them back together again…stitch by stitch.”

But when the curtain falls on Bolsonaro, those fears can wait. On Sunday, Freitas just wants to have fun.

“I feel so happy,” she smiled, showing off the bright red shirt and hat she’d be wearing for her big boss day.

Democracy has prevailed. People have prevailed. “Brazil will never see another event like it,” she said. “We may have another 200 presidents but we will never see anything like this again.”

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