RIO DE JANEIRO-Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who assumes the presidency Sunday, faces a long list of hurdles from healing a deeply divided country to battling poverty and hunger in the face of severe budget constraints.
A “Herculean task” awaits the new head of Latin America’s largest economy, a country of 215 million of whom more than half face food insecurity, Lula’s vice-president to be Geraldo Alckmin has conceded.
Lula’s transition team blames four years of “irresponsible management” under far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro for plunging the country into a dismal state of scarcity and declines in social welfare, education, health and environmental protection.
To help him tackle these challenges, Lula spent weeks in tough negotiations to put together a team of ministers, now ready.