Ahead of his swearing in for his second tilt at the presidency of Brazil, Luis Ignacio Da Slva Lula arrived in Egypt for the meeting of COP 27 to a welcome that could hardly have been bettered had he already ascended to office.
It was, in part, loud and raucous, as Brazilian celebratory events usually are, the chants of Lula! Lula! from the army of Brazilians who had made their way to Egypt Brazil to stage their own early celebration of his return to the peak of Brazilian politics.
It was as much the populist image that the one-time trade unionist had secured during his first tilt at the presidency as the promise of his continued focus on reining in the degradation of the Amazon, huge swathes of which are part of Brazil’s territory, that afforded him the tumultuous welcome when he arrived in Egypt. COP 27 could hardly have been more timely for Lula.