Inauguration of Jair Bolsonaro

Space reserved for TV coverage during the inauguration solenity of Jair Bolsonaro and Hamilton Mourão.

Traditionally, the television broadcast of the ceremonies was coordinated and made by Brazil Communication Company (EBC), and relayed by 11 channels, among them TV NBR, TV Globo, GloboNews, RecordTV, SBT, RedeTV!, Rede Bandeirantes and BandNews TV.[9][10]

GloboNews made the largest coverage of the inauguration, airing about 18 hours, from 6 am of 1 January to 12 am of 2 January. From the country capital to the Brazilians households, Globo made a special and unprecedented scheme, with reports working in more than 20 locations live. There were 45 teams filming and a pool of 11 broadcasters. The coverage had more than 300 journalists and technicians of Globo, GloboNews and G1.[11]

RecordTV mobilized 111 professionals during the inauguration of president Jair Bolsonaro. In Brasília, there 94 professionals for the broadcasting, other 13, among reporters, film reporters, were sent from São Paulo to the capital, besides other 4 professionals from Brasília. Besides the pool images, the broadcaster had 13 exclusive live broadcast equipments, with reporters positioned in all of the ceremony spots.[12]

SBT made a live and uninterrupted coverage of the inauguration of the new president, hosted by journalist Carlos Nascimento, besides the involvement of about 50 professionals, among reporters, producers, filmmakers and technicians, also with exclusive cameras in the Cathedral of Brasília, the National Congress, the Planalto Palace and the Itamaraty Palace.[13]

President Jair Bolsonaro and First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro during the parlatorium speech at the Planalto Palace.

The second Bolsonaro speech, this time for his electors outside the Congress, gained repercussion around the world, specially his speech, hold a Brazilian flag, in favor of a "traditional family", against what he called the "political correctness" and "nocive ideologies" and that his inauguration would represent "the day that the people began to break free from socialism".[18]

The largest and most famous international newspapers, such as French Le Monde[19] and Le Figaro,[20] British The Guardian,[21] Italian Corriere della Sera,[22] the American newspaper The New York Times[23] and American broadcaster CBS News[24] highlighted the moment and all of them called president Bolsonaro a "populist" and "far-rightist".

Brazilian Presidential and Vice Presidential investiture document. It has the signatures of the inaugurated and members of the National Congress Director Board.

For CBS News, "Bolsonaro was the latest of several far-right leaders around the globe who have come to power by riding waves of anger and promising to ditch the status quo".[18][24] Corriere della Sera criticized the "poor references" to economic programs of the new government during Bolsonaro's speech, who, according to the newspaper, "repeatedly acknowledged understanding a thing" about it, delegating all of economic issues to his Minister of the Economy, Paulo Guedes.[18][22]

According to Le Figaro, "Jair Bolsonaro took office on Tuesday, opening an age of ruptures with many uncertancies related to a far-right leaning of the largest power of the Latin America".[18][20] Spanish newspaper El País, highlighting the promise to "free Brazil from corruption, criminality and ideological submission", emphasized the alliance of Bolsonaro with U.S. President Donald Trump.[18]

The reference to socialism during the inauguration speech also gained repercusion nationally. In his social networks, professor, former Minister of Education and former Mayor of São Paulo Fernando Haddad, who went to the runoff in the 2018 election, ironized the president, regarding the minimum wage fixed on 2 January by him, affirming: "The people began to break free from socialism: expected minimum wage of R$ 1,006 was fixed in R$ 998. No pity. Wild!".[25][26]

In an interview to the Brazilian version of El País on 7 January, politician Ciro Gomes, who placed third in the first round of the 2018 election, affirmed: "What's unsettling is that he said this in his inauguration speech, something that is projected for history. It was not supposed to be a "podium rapture", but what he does is a "podium rapture" that comes from the premise of the ignorance of the people. He supposes that the people is stupid, uncapable to know what socialism is. Affirming this, he conjures in the word "socialism" all of the conservative anger, that has two plans: conservative habits and economic conservatism. It is a tragedy, because it means that the comrade, after beginning his government, announces he will stay at the podium. He keeps saying superficial silly things and afirms himself in an 'antipetismo' also superficial".[27]

Jair Bolsonaro and Michelle during the parade in an open car between the Cathedral of Brasília and the National Congress.

The Argentinian newspaper Clarín criticized the strong security scheme made for the ceremony, calling it "uncommon".[18] Restrictions to the press work during the inauguration were published and criticized by journalists from many sources, national and international, and from organizations such as the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji). Professionals affirmed they had no access to water or restrooms, that they were confined for around 7 hours, since their arrival until the beginning of the event, with no freedom of movement, and were unable to interview authorities during the coverage.[28][29] The distribution of the traditional coffee was vetoed and chairs were removed, obliging the professionals to work sitting on the ground, and their snacks had to be placed in transparent bags and apples should be cut up, to avoid being thrown and cause an injury to the president-elect.[28] Besides that, the new government advisors vetoed movement that could be identified as "sudden" from photographers that raise their cameras, as it could lead a sniper to shoot down the "target".[28]

Security barricades used during the inauguration.

Journalist and author Miriam Leitão, in her column in the newspaper O Globo, affirmed that covering inaugurations since general João Figueiredo, the last president of the military dictatorship, "there nothing so restrict".[28][30] According to her, "it is clear that the security of president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro, and from the heads of State who are among us, need rule enforcement, but what is happening to journalists is unthinkable and unacceptable".[30]

Under the title "A dog day" in her column in the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, journalist Mônica Bergamo described the event as "something never seen since the redemocratization of the country, in which the opening of a new elect government was always a festivity closely watched, and with almost full freedom of movement by the press workers".[28][31]

In a statement published on Twitter, Abraji affirmed that "a government that restricts the press works ignores the constitutional obligation of transparency. The Brazilians will get less information regarding the presidential inauguration due to limitations imposed to the journalists movement in Brasília".[28][29] "The Abraji protests against this anti-democratic treatment given to the professionals that are there to broadcast to the public the historical recordings of this moment", concluded the entity in the statement.[29]

Foreign correspondents also got angry and professionals from China and France abandoned the inauguration coverage, complaining about the treatment given to journalists, mainly about the fact that they were placed in a room with no windows in the underground of the Itamaraty press are with one television, not possible to freely circulate and film the population.[28][32][33] Some reporters called the situation a "false imprisonment".[34]