News round-up, Tuesday, January 03, 2023
Lula sworn in as reconciliatory president, rising from ashes of Brazilian politics
By Bruno Meyerfeld (Brasilia, special correspondent)
Published on January 2, 2023
Brazil's new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (4-L) takes his dog "Resistencia" by the leash as he walks up the ramp upon being welcomed by indigenous Brazilian leader and environmentalist Raoni Metuktire, known as Chief Raoni (3-L) and other community representatives at Planalto Palace after his inauguration ceremony at the National Congress, in Brasilia, on January 1, 2023. SERGIO LIMA / AFP
On the first day of 2023, at close to 5 pm, Brazil was shaking with emotion. In the Three Powers Plaza, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 77 years old, was about to become Brazil's president for the third time. He walked up the Planalto presidential palace's long marble ramp, a symbol of Brazilian power. But beside him, there were no officials or generals in front of the tens of thousands of supporters. Holding onto Lula's arm, an Indigenous chief walks by his side: Raoni Metuktire.
The president and the cacique. The steelworker and the Kayapo. The symbolic force of the two together was irresistible. The senior Raoni, at 93 years old, recognizable by his golden feather headdress and his legendary lip plate, physically diminished, was present for this historic moment; the swearing-in of the 39th president of Brazil, seen as a moment of great national reconciliation.
The two men were not alone on the ramp. In addition to the first lady, Rosangela da Silva, the vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, and his wife, Maria Lucia, Lula brought his dog, Resistencia, who was held on a leash. Also by his side was a garbage collector, an influencer with a disability, a teacher, a metal worker, and a 10-year-old Black boy in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. The varied faces of Brazil.
'It's carnival and revolution!'
They are the ones, in the absence of Jair Bolsonaro, who placed the presidential sash around Lula's neck: the culmination of a day of celebration, which saw this extraordinary political figure make an unprecedented comeback. Barely three years ago, the miserable child of the Nordeste, who became a trade unionist and then the president of a golden decade for Brazil (2003-2011), was in prison and condemned to end his days there in shame. Now he is back leading his country.
For Lula's supporters, the party had actually started the night before. On January 1, 2023, at midnight, Jair Bolsonaro was already officially no longer the president of Brazil. In the capital, taken by storm by left-wing supporters, people kissed for the first time of the new year under fireworks fired from Lake Paranoa. Further on, on the Ministries Esplanade, the cleaning teams were busy. Its marble halls were being washed with water.
By the early morning, there were hundreds of thousands of Lula supporters all the way up to Brazil's Monumental Axis, a grandiose avenue of 16 kilometers where the country's institutions are lined up. A gastronomic fair and a large stage were set up on the lawn with concerts scheduled until 4 am. "It's carnival and revolution!" laughed Thalis, a 41-year-old theater actor who was holding a horse costume in his hand.
Lula 'the savior'
It was a hot morning. Firemen refreshed the vast crowd with water jets and sang at the top of their lungs. "It is a cry, an emotion, which springs from the depths of our being," said Donizeti Nogueira, an executive of the Workers' Party (PT) in Tocantins (Nordeste), wearing a red fedora on his head. For those on the left, the celebration is a question of recovering their dignity after a cursed decade, which saw former president Dilma Rousseff impeached, Lula imprisoned and Jair Bolsonaro victorious. There was no holding back: "This is the greatest democratic victory of the 20th, 21st and 22nd centuries!," Donizeti enthused.
Supporters of President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrive at the Esplanada dos Ministerios to attend his inauguration ceremony in Brasilia on January 1, 2023. DOUGLAS MAGNO/AFP
Firefighters spray water over supporters of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gathering to attend his inauguration as new president outside the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, January 1, 2023. SILVIA IZQUIERDOI/AP
Two young men pass in jerseys of the Seleçao, the Brazilian national team, which had been adopted as a rallying symbol by Jair Bolsonaro's supporters. "With my husband, we wanted to reclaim these symbols, confiscated by the fascists!" said Ricardo, an engineer in his thirties. On the Esplanade, generations cross paths and pass on the baton. Juliana, 41 years old came with her daughter Anna, 17 years old. With makeup, T-shirt, dyed hair, earrings, and a strawberry sorbet in hand, the two women had covered themselves in red. "It's very important to be here together today," insisted the mother. "Lula, for me too, is the only reference, the savior," added her daughter.
"But we are only dressing like this for today. Tonight, we will go back to the hotel, and we won't come out anymore. We are too afraid of violence...," Juliana added. The threat of an attack hovered over this day. More than 8,000 police and military personnel, as well as drones and snipers, had been deployed to ensure the safety of Lula and his supporters. Some went as far as to offer him a bulletproof vest and an armored car. The new president firmly declined.
Several notable absentees
Shortly after 2:30 pm, Lula emerged from the presidential Rolls-Royce: a 1952 model of the gleaming black Silver Wraith convertible. Escorted by the Presidential Guard Battalion of Brazil on horseback, decked out in red and white uniforms, the procession set off from Brasilia's cathedral in the direction of the Congress. It was there, under its two iconic domes and in front of the assembled members of the legislative and judicial branches, that the inauguration took place.
In the austere Chamber of Deputies amphitheater, decorated with dark metal bars, the whole of Brasilia stood solemnly. Several foreign presidents also made the trip: the "comrades" of the left like the Chilean Gabriel Boric, the Argentine Alberto Fernandez, the Colombian Gustavo Petro and the ex-president of Uruguay, "Pepe" Mujica (to whom Lula reserved a particularly warm embrace). Also in attendance were King Felipe VI of Spain and the German, Angolan and Portuguese heads of state.
The assembly, however, had several notable absentees. Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, who had been approached for a while, did not make the trip in the end. Joe Biden, who had at one time considered sending US Vice President Kamala Harris, finally sent Deb Haaland, the secretary of the interior. Emmanuel Macron was represented by Olivier Becht, the trade minister. A disappointment for those in Lula's camp.
'We bear no spirit of revenge'
Upon arrival, the president-elect greeted his distinguished guests. In order to respect protocol, he was quickly invited to take an oath and sign the act of his inauguration. He swore to "uphold, defend and apply the Constitution, observe the laws, promote the common good of the Brazilian people, support unity, integrity and independence." It was at exactly 3:06 pm that Lula became the 39th president of Brazil.
Brazil's new president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers a speech after swearing in during his inauguration ceremony at the National Congress in Brasilia, on January 1, 2023. MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP
The Federative Republic of Brazil acclaimed its new leader. As if by magic, the republic was reconciled. But Lula does not have only friends in this assembly. Rosa Weber, president of the Federal Supreme Court, voted in 2018 to imprison him. Arthur Lira, president of the Chamber of Deputies, and Augusto Aras, attorney general, were until recently very loyal allies of Jair Bolsonaro.
A shrewd and skillful politician, Lula knows how to be magnanimous. Faced with the establishment that had buried him too soon, he decreed forgiveness and called for unity. "We bear no spirit of revenge against those who tried to enslave the nation to their personal and ideological designs," said the new head of state, adding that "Today, after this terrible challenge we overcame, we must say: democracy forever!"
Absence of Jair Bolsonaro
Lula is back in power. But the day had finished. The Brazilian republic loves symbols and Lula was preparing to address the people. After a brief military review, with a tired face, the new president headed to the Three Powers Plaza. There, 30,000 supporters dressed in bright red faced the Parlatorium, the large marble platform in the Planalto Palace, from which the head of state traditionally delivers his speeches to the nation.
Brazil's new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (center) with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and their wives, First Lady Rosangela da Silva and Maria Lucia Ribeiro Alckmin, during his inauguration ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, January 1, 2023. CARL DE SOUZA / AFP
In the noble salon, his closest companions awaited him. PT leaders in suits and ties crossed paths with Favela activists in sneakers and caps; feathered Indigenous chiefs spoke with babalorishás, priests of the Afro-Brazilian religions, in immaculate tunics. Standing straight on her chair in the front row was a woman with a smile on her face. "This story will not end like this (...) We will come back!" Dilma Rousseff had promised in 2016 in this same palace on the day of her impeachment. She was savoring her revenge.
Jair Bolsonaro, on the other hand, had been gone for two days. Gone was the captain of the far right, who headed to Florida for several weeks. The outgoing president refused to participate in the ceremonies and to pass on the traditional sash to his successor. On December 31, 2022, reporters spotted him in the streets of Orlando, eating fried chicken from KFC and taking selfies with a handful of supporters.
The day before, Mr. Bolsonaro had given up the ghost during a final online live broadcast, recorded in the Alvorada Palace library, the residence of the head of state. From this refined place, from where he spread lies and the most delirious rumors for four years, the outgoing president appeared distraught. Trembling, nervous, the outrageous captain curiously called for "tranquility," "respect for one's neighbor," and the "search for peace and harmony."
'This nightmare has ended'
His last words were perplexing, to say the least: "Thank you very much to all of you, I embrace you all, in the struggle, and a good 2023 to all... God bless our Brazil," Mr. Bolsonaro said with a broken voice and an imploring look, both hands placed flat on the table. A long breath and a look at the ceiling followed. "Let's move forward," he concluded.
The man who had smashed through the doors of power with a battering ram finally left Brasilia through the window and on tiptoe.
Back to the Parlatorium. Lula wanted his address to be personal. During the 27 minutes, the president, with a hoarse voice, broke into tears several times. "What the Brazilian people have suffered in recent years is the slow and progressive construction of a genocide," he lamented, referring to an era of shadows, uncertainty and much suffering. But "this nightmare has come to an end," Lula promised, lyrically, calling on his supporters to use "the weapons our opponents fear most: truth, which has defeated lies; hope, which has defeated fear; and love, which has defeated hate."
This January 1st, Lula did not stop at words. Within minutes of taking office, the leftist president immediately made a myriad of decisions that ended the Bolsonarist legacy: an extension of social assistance and fuel tax exemptions; revocation of decrees liberalizing gun ownership and illegal gold mining; lifting of secrecy over administrative acts; the re-establishment of an international fund for the preservation of the Amazon.
Supporters of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gather to attend his inauguration as new president outside the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, January 1, 2023. SILVIA IZQUIERDO/AP
It was a question of moving quickly because the new government has no state of grace. According to the Datafolha Institute, barely one Brazilian in two thinks that the current government will be able to do better than the previous one. At nightfall, a final cocktail party was organized at the Itamaraty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, decorated with colonnades and a water garden. But Lula only stayed for a short time. The next day, he had to fly to Santos to attend Pelé's funeral. The death of a "king" for the advent of a president.
Space and Astronomy: What to Expect in 2023
Jan. 3, 2023
As years in space and astronomy go, 2022 is going to be a tough act to follow.
NASA wowed us with cosmic scenes captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The DART mission slammed an asteroid into a new orbit. Artemis I set humanity on a course back to the moon. China finished building a new space station in orbit. SpaceX launched and landed 61 rockets in 12 months. And the invasion of Ukraine imperiled Russia’s status as a space power.
It’s a lot to measure up to, but 2023 is bound to have some excitement on the launchpad, the lunar surface and in the sky. Once again, you can get updates on your personal digital calendar by signing up for The New York Times’s Space and Astronomy Calendar. Here are some of the major events you can expect. Not all of them have certain dates yet, but Times journalists will provide additional information as it emerges.
Never miss an eclipse, meteor shower, rocket launch or other event that’s out of this world again with The Times Space and Astronomy Calendar.
New Rockets
NASA got its giant Space Launch System off the ground for the first time in 2022, lighting up the night in Florida with an incredible stream of flame as it carried the Artemis I mission toward the moon. That shifted attention to SpaceX, which is building a next generation rocket, Starship, that is also central to NASA’s crewed Artemis III moon landing attempt.
SpaceX cleared a key environmental review that would allow it to launch an uncrewed orbital test flight from South Texas if it met certain conditions. But the rocket wasn’t ready for flight in 2022. The company has not announced a date for a test this year, but regular ground tests of Starship equipment indicate it is working toward one.
The pathfinder first stage of the Vulcan Centaur, a new rocket by United Launch Alliance that will eventually replace that company’s Atlas V.Credit...United Launch Alliance
Numerous other rockets may take flight for the first time in 2023. The most important, Vulcan Centaur by United Launch Alliance, will eventually replace that company’s Atlas V, a vehicle that has been central to American spaceflight for two decades. The Vulcan relies on the BE-4 engine built by Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Jeff Bezos. The same engine will in turn be used in Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, which may have a test flight late this year.
A number of American private companies are expected to test new rockets in 2023, including Relativity and ABL. They could be joined by foreign rocket makers, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries which could test Japan’s H3 rocket in February, and Arianespace, which is working toward a test flight of Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket.
New Lunar Landings
We’re guaranteed at least one lunar landing attempt in 2023. A Japanese company, Ispace, launched its M1 mission on a SpaceX rocket in December. It’s taking a slow, fuel-efficient route to the moon and is set to arrive in April, when it will try to deploy a rover built by the United Arab Emirates, a robot built by Japan’s space agency, JAXA, as well as other payloads.
There could be as many as five more lunar landing attempts this year.
NASA has hired a pair of private companies to carry payloads to the lunar surface. Both of them, Intuitive Machines of Houston and Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh, faced delays in 2022, but may make the trip in the coming months.
They could be joined by three government space programs’ lunar missions. India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission was delayed last year but could be ready in 2023. A Japanese mission, Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, aims to test the country’s lunar landing technologies. Finally, Russia’s Luna-25 mission was postponed from last September, but Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, may try this year.
New Space Telescopes
Scientists in 2019 at work with the European Space Agency’s Euclid spacecraft, which will study energy and dark matter. Its 2022 launch was postponed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Credit...S. Corvaja/European Space Agency
The Webb telescope wowed space enthusiasts and scientists with its views of the cosmos, but we may get new vantages from a variety of orbital observatories.
The most significant may be Xuntian, a Chinese mission setting off later in the year that will be like a more sophisticated version of the Hubble Space Telescope. The spacecraft will survey the universe at optical and ultraviolet wavelengths in an orbit around Earth close to the country’s Tiangong space station.
A Japanese-led mission, XRISM, pronounced chrism, could launch earlier in the year as well. The mission will use X-ray spectroscopy to study clouds of plasma, which could help to explain the universe’s composition. A European space telescope, Euclid, may also launch on a SpaceX rocket after the Russian invasion of Ukraine resulted in the spacecraft losing its seat on a Russian Soyuz rocket. It will study the universe’s dark energy and dark matter.
New Planetary Missions
A new spacecraft will head toward Jupiter this year, aiming to become the first to ever orbit another planet’s moon. The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer, or JUICE, will launch from an Ariane 5 rocket as early as April 5 to set off to the Jovian system, arriving in 2031. Once it reaches the gas giant, it will move to conduct 35 flybys of three of the giant world’s moons: Callisto, Europa and Ganymede, all of which are believed to have subsurface oceans. In 2034, JUICE will begin orbiting Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system.
The story behind Pope Benedict XVI’s red shoes
Pope Benedict XVI wearing brilliant red shoes arrives to attend an interreligious gathering at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center on April 17, 2008, in Washington, D.C.
By Katie Yoder
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 1, 2023
When Pope Benedict XVI resigned in 2013, he stepped down as the bishop of Rome — and out of his famous red leather shoes.
During his reign as pope, Benedict’s red shoes became something of a trademark, inspiring ABC News to call him a “fashionista” and Esquire to name him “accessorizer of the year.” At another point, his loafers sparked controversy after false rumors claimed they were crafted by the high-end Italian fashion house Prada.
Benedict’s choice of shoes stands out because his predecessor and successor — St. John Paul II and Pope Francis — opted for alternatives. But popes have walked in red for centuries.
In photos of Benedict's mortal remains released by the Vatican today, he is dressed in red and gold vestments and ordinary black clerical shoes.
Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (R) following his arrival in Australia ahead of World Youth Day 2008 at Richmond RAAF Base on July 13, 2008, in Sydney, Australia. Sergio Dionisio/Getty Images
Far from a fashion statement, in the Catholic faith, red symbolizes martyrdom and the Passion of Christ.
In other words, they signify the pope following in the footsteps of Christ.
Two Italian cobblers are credited with fashioning Benedict’s shoes during his pontificate: Adriano Stefanelli and Antonio Arellano.
Stefanelli, an Italian craftsman, has created shoes for a long list of notable leaders, including St. John Paul II, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush, according to Italy’s ANSA news.
He first delivered shoes to the Vatican when he witnessed John Paul II in pain in 2003, CNA previously reported. He asked himself what he could do, personally, to help. He decided on shoes.
That tradition continued with Benedict XVI.
The “greatest satisfaction is to see, looking at the photos and images of Benedict XVI, that the shoe is, as they say informally, well ‘used and carried,’ [and] therefore comfortable,” he told L’Osservatore Romano.
Another artisan, Arellano, mended shoes for Benedict back when he was a cardinal. Originally from Trujillo, Peru, Arellano moved to Rome in 1990 to open a shoe repair shop by the Vatican.
When his friend the cardinal became pope, he was elated.
“Everyone was running through the streets, and I saw Cardinal Ratzinger appear on television,” he previously told CNA. “I was amazed because he was my customer and I was so happy.”
Arellano said he remembered Benedict’s shoe size — 42 — and decided to give the new pope a pair of red shoes during a general audience at the Vatican.
“When we got there to greet him, the pope recognized me, smiled, and said, ‘Here is my shoemaker.’ It was a wonderful moment, because he makes you feel important,” Arellano remembered. “He gave a blessing to me and my family and we said goodbye.”
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That gift resulted in the Vatican requesting another pair of shoes for the pontiff to wear during the beatification of John Paul II.
“It was awesome, because then I really did feel like I was the Holy Father’s shoemaker,” he said, adding that “it’s one thing to give the pope a present; it’s another for them to call you to specifically make some shoes for him.”
When he retired, the pope emeritus put away his red shoes in favor of leather loafers designed by a Mexican Catholic cobbler, Armando Martin Dueñas. Those three pairs — two burgundy, one brown — came to him as another gift.