Airline tickets become more expensive and lack of vacancies in Brasilia hotels for Lula’s inauguration

Marcela Leiros – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – With an estimated 150 thousand people from all over the country present at the inauguration of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and his vice Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) on Sunday, December 1, are at high prices for tickets and accommodation in Brasilia (DF).

A search made by Google travel search engine, on Wednesday, 28, showed that those who still want to risk traveling from Manaus, Amazonas, the federal capital, will pay R$ 4.307. Another option is to leave Manaus on Saturday, 31, and return from Brasilia on day 1, paying the value leaves for R$ 2.996.

The businesswoman Liliane Araújo bought the air ticket on December 10 and had to pay R$ 2,500 to spend two days in Brasilia. Being used to travelling to the capital, she recalls that she normally pays less than R$ 1,000 on the ticket. Besides the high price, another difficulty was finding a seat on the aircraft.

“It was difficult for me to buy mine. Besides being very expensive, there was almost no vacancy on the aircraft and the flights were all full”, says Liliane, stating that she also had difficulties finding accommodation, and when she did, the prices were higher.

“All [the hotels] practically full. I used to pay something around R$ 400, now the daily rate is R$1,000. This will be the first time I will accompany a presidential inauguration and I believe it will be a historic moment for our country, despite the tense atmosphere”, she added.

More expensive accommodation

The human resources manager Orson Oliveira also decided to go to Lula’s inauguration right after the election result and will stay only one day in the city. The most difficult thing, for him, was to find a place to stay, with a more affordable price.

“An flat with a good location, good structure and a more affordable price were criteria that made my search difficult, I managed to make a reservation six days before the trip. The values in hotels that before cost R$ 280, R$ 320, today, are R$ 2,500, R$ 4,600 in the booking apps, for a daily rate. In the applications that receive tenants, the value per room does not come out to less than R$ 1,500“, he says.

At the beginning of December, the Union of Employers of Hotels, Restaurants, Bars and Similar of the Federal District (Sindhobar-DF) reported that most hotels in the federal capital were already 90% occupied. In some establishments, 100% of rooms were already booked.

Brasilia also ranked second on the list of most popular destinations for those who would travel by bus in the weeks of Christmas and New Year, according to a survey by ClickBus. Besides the federal capital, the biggest searches were for Vitória da Conquista (BA), Arraial do Cabo (RJ) and Florianópolis (SC).

Inauguration

The itinerary for the inauguration of the president-elect foresees the arrival of Lula and his vice-president, Geraldo Alckmin, to the Metropolitan Cathedral at 2:20pm (Brasília time). From there, they will follow the traditional procession to the National Congress, where the solemn inauguration session will take place, starting at 3pm. After the performance of the National Anthem, there will be the signing of the term of office and a speech to the nation.

On the same day, the Festival of the Future, a popular festival to celebrate Lula’s victory, will take place. The event starts at 11am, at the Esplanade of the Ministries, and features free shows by artists such as Chico César, Zélia Duncan, Martinho da Vila, Margareth Menezes, Odair José, Fernanda Takai, Pabllo Vittar, Marcelo Jeneci and Teresa Cristina.

Read also: Army anticipates inauguration of new commander amid tension from Bolsonarist camps

Police reinforcement

The Ministry of Justice and Public Safety authorized the use of the National Public Security Force in the Lula’s inauguration. The operation “Presidential inauguration 2023” started on Tuesday, 27, and will last until next Monday, 2.

Already the president-elect’s team discusses strengthen the security of the petista during the inauguration ceremony, after a Bolsonaro supporter try to carry out a bombing on Saturday, 24.

According to Folhapress, Lula’s allies say that the decision about the car the president-elect will parade in, for example, will be made on the very first day, for security reasons. Today, there are two scenarios under study: one where the President-elect will be in a traditional Rolls Royce convertible; another where he will parade in a closed and armoured car.

Also read: Extremist acts in Brasilia ignite alert for Lula’s inauguration