The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has addressed the country after revalidating his term and has underlined that the time has come to urgently open a debate on reform of the political and judicial system, with the aim of having Brazilian Justice "recover its credibility" through judges "impartial, ethical and free of conflicts of interest".
In his address, the head of state claimed his victory, achieved with more than 64 million votes, in an election in which, as he has argued, "truth defeated lies" despite attempts at interference by major technology platforms through the dissemination of disinformation.
Throughout the speech, Lula has also stated that "Brazil is not a place for those who flee their responsibilities," an indirect reference to the former Brazilian presidential candidate and senator Flávio Bolsonaro. The son of former president Jair Bolsonaro left the country after Brazilian Justice demanded that he hand over his passports at the end of the presidential election, as part of an investigation into money laundering linked to the alleged foreign funding of his campaign.
On the economic front, the leader of the Workers' Party has expressed his concern about the evolution of public debt and about high interest rates, and has reiterated his commitment to "fiscal responsibility" as a condition for sustaining social policies and raising national investment to above 20% of GDP.
Among the most notable measures are the exemption from income tax for salaries of up to 5,000 reais (a little more than 800 euros), the abolition of taxes on the basic food basket starting next year, the purchase by the state of household debt from banks, and the waiver of outstanding obligations of individual micro-entrepreneurs with the federal government.
Likewise, the president has applauded the disappearance of sports betting platforms, which he has said "destroyed lives and must be consigned to the past as a nightmare from which Brazil woke up". In the educational and social sphere, he has committed to universalizing comprehensive education and to expanding the "Pé-de-Meia" scholarship program to university education.
In matters of security, he has advanced that, once the Constitutional Amendment (PEC) for Public Security has been approved, he will send a Provisional Measure to create the Ministry of Public Security —in charge of combating criminal factions and regaining control of territories— and that he will promote the National Pact against Femicide.