What can Lula deliver for Brazil?

As the saying goes, the third time’s the charm.

For newly sworn-in Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his third term is a chance to take his nation in a new direction.

Much has changed since the leftist leader was last in office 12 years ago. He has inherited a bitterly divided country with a bleak economic outlook and an Amazon rainforest suffering from the policies of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who allowed extensive deforestation.

The far-right leader skipped Sunday’s handover ceremony and is now in the United States.

So is this a new dawn for Brazil? And what challenges remain for its president?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests:

Guilherme Casaroes – professor of political science at Brazil’s Fundacao Getulio Vargas University

Nizar Messari – professor of international relations at Morocco’s Al Akhawayn University

Vinicius de Carvalho – reader in Brazilian and Latin American Studies at King’s College London and editor of the Anthem Brazilian Studies Series