Under strong security, Jair Bolsonaro took office as Brazil’s President on January 1st. The inauguration was organized in four stages: it began in the afternoon with an ecumenical cult in the Cathedral of Brasilia. From there, Bolsonaro paraded next to the first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro, in a vehicle that took him to the National Congress, where he took office as president and stated that he wants to free Brazil from corruption, crime and economic mismanagement. Soon after, he headed to the Planalto Palace, the executive branch’s head office, and, in the evening, he participated in a cocktail held in the Itamaraty Palace, the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In his inaugural speech, the President promised to build a “society without discrimination or division”. About 140 people attended the ceremony in the Congress. The group was made up mostly of family members and officials of the president-elect’s cabinet.