Brazilian presidential inauguration: Difference between revisions
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The only essential part of the inauguration ceremonies, according to Brazil's Federal Constitution, is the taking of the constitutional oath of office before a joint session of the National Congress. |
The only essential part of the inauguration ceremonies, according to Brazil's Federal Constitution, is the taking of the constitutional oath of office before a joint session of the National Congress. |
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However, other ceremonies, such as a parade leading up to the arrival of the president-elect in Congress, the transfer of the Presidential sash from the former President to the new holder of the office, a presidential reception at night also take place in the case of planned inaugurations. |
However, other ceremonies, such as a parade leading up to the arrival of the president-elect in Congress, the transfer of the Presidential sash from the former President to the new holder of the office, and a presidential reception at night also take place in the case of planned inaugurations. |
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The ceremonies described below are those observed since [[Brasilia]] became the Federal Capital. |
The ceremonies described below are those observed since [[Brasilia]] became the Federal Capital. |
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Revision as of 17:18, 20 December 2011
The inauguration of the President of Brazil is composed of several ceremonies that happen in the same day.
Through democratic elections or coups, resignations and deaths, presidential inaugurations have been important events in Brazilian history.
The ceremonies had different symbologies at different times.
The ceremonies
The only essential part of the inauguration ceremonies, according to Brazil's Federal Constitution, is the taking of the constitutional oath of office before a joint session of the National Congress.
However, other ceremonies, such as a parade leading up to the arrival of the president-elect in Congress, the transfer of the Presidential sash from the former President to the new holder of the office, and a presidential reception at night also take place in the case of planned inaugurations.
The ceremonies described below are those observed since Brasilia became the Federal Capital.
The Inaugural Parade
The president-elect and the vice-president elect ride to Congress, where they are to take the oath of office, in a ceremonial parade.
The inauguration parade starts at the National Cathedral, located at the beginning of Ministries Esplanade. In front of the National Cathedral, the President-elect and Vice-President-elect take the presidential Rolls Royce and proceed in parade down the Ministries Esplanade to the National Congress, while escorted by the Independence Dragoons.
A number of Presidents-elect have chosen to attend Holy Mass at the National Cathedral before the start of the inaugural ceremonies. In that case, a Solemn Mass is scheduled to take place in the Cathedral before the time set for the beginning of the State-sponsored inauguration ceremonies. The President-elect then hears Holy Mass and leaves the National Cathedral at or around the time scheduled for the start of the inauguration parade.
Other Presidents-elect have chosen not to attend Solemn Mass in the Cathedral before the inauguration ceremonies (some have attended no religious service at all, and others, while still attending Mass, opted for a private celebration in the morning of inauguration day instead of a major event in the Cathedral): in that case, instead of proceeding to the Parade from the Cathedral, they simply arrive in front of the Cathedral in their private cars, and at that point enter the presidential State Car for the start of the Parade.
During the parade, the Ceremonial State Cars carrying the President elect and his spouse, the Vice-President elect and his spouse are flanked by a formation of Dragoons from the presidential guard of honor. However, except in the case of a re-elected President and Vice-President, the flagpoles in the Ceremonial State Cars (that usually bear the National Flag and the Presidential or Vice-Presidential Standard) remain empty during that part of the ceremonies, as those being transported are not yet President and Vice-President.
The taking of the oath of office before a joint session of Congress
The Parade ends at foot of the entrance ramp to the Palace of Congress.
Arriving at the National Congress, the President and Vice-President elect are greeted by the President of the Senate (the upper house; the president of the Senate is ex officio the President of Congress, and in that capacity chairs all joint sessions) and the President of the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house). Inside the National Congress Palace, a joint session of Congress takes place, and the President-elect and Vice-President-elect take their oaths of office. At that time, immediately upon taking the oaths, they become President and Vice-President of the Republic. As soon as the constitutional oaths are taken before the assembled Congress, the new office holders are declared by the President of Congress to be invested in the Presidency and the Vice Presidency of the Republic. The National Anthem is played as soon as the oaths are taken and the declarative announcement by the President of Congress is made. Once the National Anthem ends, one of the Secretaries of Congress reads out the instrument recording the oaths taken and the investiture of the President and Vice-President in their offices. That instrument, a proces-verbal of the constitutionally essential part of the inauguration ceremonies, is written in a special investiture book recording the investiture of all Presidents and Vice-Presidents. The new President and the new Vice-President then sign the instrument recording their investiture, and the document is also signed by the President of Congress and the other members of Congress' directing board. Once that deed is signed, the President of Congress invites the President of the Republic to address the joint session. The President's inaugural address is given, followed by a short speech by the President of Congress, who then closes the proceedings of the joint session.
The congressional leaders then escort the new President and the new Vice-President from the Chamber and accompany them to the front ramp of the Palace of Congress.
The military ceremony
Once the President emerges from the Palace of Congress, he pauses at the top of the front ramp of that palace, and, upon sight of the new Head of State, a 21-gun salute is immediately fired by the Cayenne Battery. During the firing of the salute, the National Anthem is again played. A brief military ceremony then takes place outdoors.
As the President is the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, he is received at the doors of the Palace of Congress by the Presidential Guard Battalion of the Army, and by Navy and Air Force troops presenting arms.
The President then reviews the troops and salutes their colours. After that, the President and the Vice-President take the ceremonial state cars to the Planalto Palace, the seat of the presidency of the Republic.
While, except in the case of a re-elected president, on the parade leading up to Congress the car flagpoles were empty, the car flagpoles now display the National Flag and the Presidential Standard or Vice-Presidential Standard.
Planalto Palace
Arriving at the Planalto Palace, the new President and Vice-President ascend the entrance ramp (only used in state ceremonies) and are greeted at its top by the former President and by the former Vice-President. The new President and the former President, followed by the new and former Vice-Presidents, then go side by side to the spot where the ceremony of the transfer of the presidential sash is to take place. The former President uses the sash up to the moment when he places it on the shoulder of the new President.
Indoors or, more commonly, in the outdoor Parlatorium of the Planalto Palace, the former President hands over the presidential sash to the new President. The National Anthem is played for the third time as soon as the sash is placed on the shoulder of the new President.
In the case of a re-elected President, there is, of course, no ceremony for the handing over of the presidential sash. Instead, the re-invested President merely re-assumes the use of the Sash, and that is not done in the Parlatorium, but before the President's arrival there. Two Brazilian Presidents have been re-elected, Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In Cardoso's case, as soon as he re-entered the Planalto Palace after the joint session in the Palace of Congress, he went indoors, and received the presidential sash in a cushion, from the hands of his Chief of Staff, who placed it on the president's shoulder. The president then went on to present himself at the Parlatorium. In the case of President Lula's reelection, the President received the Sash at the foot of the entrance ramp of the Planalto Palace, and thus entered the palace via the ramp already using the Sash, going directly to the Parlatorium.
In the outdoor Parlatorium the President (new or re elected), already using the Presidential Sash, delivers a public address facing the Three Powers Square where the people are assembled.
In the case of a new President, the speech begins as soon as he has received the sash from the former President and the National Anthemn has been played, and the former President listens to the speech at the side of the new President. The President then escorts the former President to the main entrance, where he goes down the ramp to an official car that takes him home or to the airport.
First duties
The first duty of the new President is to appoint the Minister of Justice and the rest of the Cabinet. Thus, when the former President has left, the new President goes indoors and enters a hall of the Planalto Palace where his future Cabinet and several gests are already waiting. There the investiture of the President's Cabinet takes place. The President first signs a decree appointing the Minister of Justice. The appointed Minister then comes forward to sign the investiture book. After the Minister of Justice signs the investiture book, the President proceeds to appoint the remainder of the Cabinet members, signing decrees that are counter-signed by the Minister of Justice.
When each decree is signed, the appointed Minister comes forward and signs the investiture book. Once the entire Cabinet has been invested, the general officers chosen as professional commanders of each branch of the Armed Forces (who discharge their duties under the Minister of Defense, a civilian), are appointed and invested by the President, who is ex officio the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Then follows the appointment and investiture of other senior officers of the Executive branch, such as Cabinet-level officials of the Presidency of the Republic.
When the all the Cabinet, the professional commanders of each branch of the Armed Forces and other senior executive officials have been appointed and invested, the President then greets the Heads of State and Heads of Government present, as well as the Heads of mission and other foreign envoys. Then the President greets other Brazilian authorities, such as Supreme Court justices, Congressional leaders and State Governors, as well as representatives of the civil society, such as Brazilian Cardinals, rabbis, etc.
Reception
At the night of the inauguration, the President holds a formal reception at the Alvorada Palace, the presidential residence, or at Brasilia's Itamaraty Palace, the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. This reception is often a ball with dinner, and traditionally the presidential ball was a white-tie event. However, Presidents Lula da Silva and Rousseff have opted for less formal and less lavish parties, and have instead hosted more simple cocktails, to which guests were expected to attend in suit and tie.
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The President-elect arrives at the National Congress
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Reception by the President of the Senate and the President of the Chamber of Deputies
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The President delivers the inaugural address at the National Congress -
The President reviews the troops of the Presidential Guard Battalion -
The President delivers a public address at the Parlatorium of the Planalto Palace -
Screen inside the Planalto Palace showing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva delivering his public address at the Parlatorium -
21-gun salute being fired by members of the Cayenne Battery -
The inauguration parade of President Rousseff
Inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had the most popular presidential inauguration in history. Citizens from all corners of Brazil went to the national capital for the inauguration ceremony. There were 3 innovations:
- Concerts before the ceremony for those who arrived early. One main stage at Square of the Three Powers and others around the Ministries Esplanade.
- Projection screens were placed around the Ministries Esplanade and secondary rooms of National Congress and Planalto Palace, allowing everyone to follow the televised ceremony.
- A second presidential parade was held after the ceremony, for the President to pass trough the crowds and greet them.
Inauguration of Dilma Rousseff
Dilma Rousseff was inaugurated as President of Brazil on January 1, 2011. The event – which was organized by her transitional team, the Ministries of External Relations and Defense and the Presidency of the Republic[1] – was awaited with some expectation, since she became the first woman ever to rule the country. Important female figures in Brazilian history were honored with panels spread across the Monumental Axis.[2]
Until December 21, 2010, the publishing house of the Senate had printed 1,229 invitations for Rousseff's inauguration.[3] The National Congress is expecting a total of 2,000 guests for the ceremony.[3] As reported by the press, between 14 and 17 heads of state and government had confirmed their presence.[4][5] Among them were José Sócrates[6], Juan Manuel Santos, Mauricio Funes, Alan García, José Mujica, Hugo Chávez, Álvaro Colom, Alpha Condé, Sebastián Piñera, Evo Morales,[4] and Boyko Borisov.[7] U.S. President Barack Obama sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to represent him.[4][8] Former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso also attend.[4]
In addition to the formal ceremony, Rousseff's inauguration also featured concerts by five female Brazilian singers: Elba Ramalho, Fernanda Takai, Mart'nália and Zélia Duncan, and Gaby Amarantos.[9] The Ministry of Culture organized the cultural part of the event, having provided a budget of 1.5 million reais (around 0.8 million U.S. dollars) for it.[9] The concerts started at 10:00 hours (local time) and stopped at 14:00 hours, with the start of the official inauguration ceremony.[10] The concerts continued at 18:00 hours until 21:00 hours.[10] Rousseff did not attend, as she held a reception at the Itamaraty Palace to foreign authorities which attended her inauguration.[10] Each foreign authority had the opportunity to talk to her for 30 seconds.[10]
Inauguration Day
From 1889 to 1930, the inauguration ceremony was held on November 15. It was later changed to January 31, and then to March 15.
The Constitution of 1988 established January 1 as the Inauguration Day.
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro was the Brazilian capital until the construction of Brasília in 1960. The ceremonies were different but had a similar format. They started at Tiradentes Palace (former home of the National Congress) where the President took the oath of office and delivered an inaugural address. He then proceeded in parade to the Catete Palace (the presidential residence and workplace) in the ceremonial state car. After receiving the presidential sash indoors, in the presence of dignataries and guests assembled in one of the halls of Catete Palace, the President appeared on the balcony and addressed the crowds. The new president then escorted the former President as he left the presidential palace. The appointments, greetings and reception were held at the Catete Palace.
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Tiradentes Palace -
Grand Staircase at Catete Palace
References
- ^ Template:Pt Londres, Mariana. "Equipe de Dilma marca dois ensaios para garantir “perfeição” na posse". R7. December 19, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Template:Pt Redação. "Posse de Dilma vai destacar o papel das mulheres na história do Brasil". Correio da Bahia. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ a b Template:Pt Folha Online. "Congresso espera 2.000 convidados para cerimônia de posse de Dilma". Agora MS. December 21, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Template:Pt "Posse de Dilma tem 14 chefes de Estado e governo confirmados". Terra. December 17, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Template:Pt Severino Motta. "Hillary e 17 líderes internacionais estarão na posse de Dilma". Último Segundo. December 17, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Template:Pt Madeira, Sara (Lusa). "José Sócrates vai estar presente na posse de Dilma Rousseff - oficial". Google News. December 17, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Template:Pt EFE. "Primeiro-ministro búlgaro assistirá à posse de Dilma Rousseff". Terra. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ Template:Pt AFP. "Hillary confirma presença na posse de Dilma". Google News. December 21, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ a b Template:Pt Andrade, Claudia (Terra). "Festa da posse custará R$ 1,5 mi". Blog do Noblat. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ a b c d [1]
- Information and pictures regarding the presidential inauguration Presidency of Brazil. Retrieved on 2009-07-25. Template:Pt
- Decree no. 70,274 - Presidential Inauguration Ceremonial Presidency of Brazil. Retrieved on 2010-11-05. Template:Pt