Brazil's Lula swears in as President for third term

In a speech to Congress, Lula said those responsible for anti-democratic acts would be held accountable, though he did not mention his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

After the swearing-in, Lula was due to drive in an open-top Rolls-Royce to the Planalto palace to don the presidential sash before a crowd of 30,000 supporters, while tens of thousands gathered to celebrate on Brasilia's esplanade.

The mood in the city was tense after the most fraught election in a generation.

Lula, 77, narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in October to win an unprecedented third presidential term after a hiatus that saw him spend a year and a half behind bars on corruption convictions that were later overturned.

His 580 days in prison reinforced his sense of social justice and convinced him of the need to prioritize ending poverty over boosting profits, allies said.

In his previous years as Workers Party (PT) president from 2003-2010, the former union leader lifted millions of Brazilians from poverty during a commodity boom that buoyed the economy.

Now, he faces the daunting challenge of improving Brazil's stagnant economy while also uniting a country that has become painfully polarized under Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro left Brazil for Florida on Friday, avoiding having to hand over the sash to his rival, whose victory he has yet to recognize, while also removing himself from any immediate legal risks related to his time in office.

His supporters have protested for two months that the election was stolen and called for a military coup to stop Lula from returning to office in a climate of vandalism and violence.

Police detained a man on Sunday who was carrying fireworks and a knife and tried to enter the esplanade for the inauguration, Brasilia police said.

As tens of thousands of Lula supporters arrived in central Brasilia for Sunday's celebrations, authorities deployed 10,000 police and troops to reinforce security and search participants, who cannot bring bottles, cans, flag masts or toy guns. Carrying firearms by civilians was also temporarily banned.

Organizers said delegations from 50 nations and 19 heads of state and governments, including the king of Spain, have confirmed their attendance, including Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez and the Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro.

Reuters