Taking Office

By Miguel Paiva, for 247

I take this opportunity, coinciding with the inauguration of President Lula, the ministers, and the governors, to also reclaim things that I had lost or that were forbidden and forgotten.

I claim the calmer air, the democracy, the happier and milder climate, the joy and the laughter. I claim my right to be who I want to be, to love whom I want to love, and to dress as I want to dress. I claim the right to believe in the god I chose, in the religion I follow, or even to believe in nothing and no one.

I claim the right to be fat, thin, black, white, yellow, indigenous, or European. It is also my right to think as I want, to help others, to make education my greatest goal, to read what I want, to listen to the music I enjoy most at that moment. The next moment I can change. I also claim all the food and drinks that exist in this country and that are within my reach. I claim the right to feed everyone, to restore love among people, to live with differences, to listen to conversations, to laugh, to respect understanding and collective work.

I take possession of the land, the house, my favorite place. Possession of the streets, the squares, the beaches, the plains and the mountains, the rivers, seas, lakes and shores. Possession of the riches we have, of the oil, the livestock, the forests, the medicinal plants, the knowledge of the indigenous peoples, the tradition passed down orally, the teachings, the tricks and the wisdom. Speaking of wisdom, we must once again take possession of science, of vaccines, of medicine, of the SUS (Brazilian public healthcare system), of doctors, nurses, nursing technicians, of all those who helped us fight Covid.

We also acknowledge our gratitude to the teachers, students, staff, writers, artists, actors, musicians, comedians, cartoonists, journalists, researchers, and PhDs who helped us keep not only the country standing, but also all those who resisted the fascism that threatened our identity and our culture all these years.

We also take possession of the country, of Brazil, of its symbols, of the characteristics of its flag, its colors and its landscape. We take possession of the Amazon so that it is no longer deforested or burned. We take possession of the riches of this gentle motherland that provides us with enough to be happy. We will reclaim the pride of being Brazilian, the joy of sharing bread, of sharing work and seeing the smile on each other's faces that we love to give and see.

This is the Brazil I want again, and if anything was missing to take possession, just add it to this list. We have the right and the duty not only to take possession but also to take care of this country so that we don't lose sight of it again. Long live democracy, elections, and President Lula. And possessed of this feeling of Brazil, I end here so that we can all take possession of the citizenship that we have so sorely lacked.

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