(2 Jan 2019) Thousands of Brazilians crowded the streets of the Brazilian capital to cheer for Jair Bolsonaro, who was sworn in as Brazil's president on Tuesday.
Taking the reins of Latin America's largest and most populous nation, he promised to overhaul myriad aspects of daily life and put an end to business-as-usual governing.
For the far-right former army captain, the New Year's Day inauguration was the culmination of a journey from a marginalized and even ridiculed congressman to a leader who many Brazilians hope can combat endemic corruption as well as violence that routinely gives the nation the dubious distinction of being world leader in total homicides.
Tuesday's festivities in Brasilia began with a motorcade procession along the main road leading to Congress and other government buildings.
Bolsonaro and his wife, Michelle, stood up in an open-top Rolls-Royce and waved to thousands of onlookers.
They were surrounded by dozens of guards on horses and plain-clothes bodyguards who ran beside the car.
As his motorcade drove by, supporters began to chant "Myth! Myth! Myth!"— a nickname that began years ago with internet memes of Bolsonaro and became more common during last year's campaign.
Bolsonaro's middle name is Messias, or Messiah in English, and many supporters believe he was chosen by God to lead Brazil, an assertion bolstered after Bolsonaro survived a stabbing during a campaign rally in September.
"It's an indescribable emotion to be here looking at our president taking power," Marcia Freitas, a supporter said from among the crowd.
A fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, the 63-year-old longtime congressman rose to power on an anti-corruption and pro-gun agenda that has energized conservatives and hard-right supporters after four consecutive presidential election wins by the left-leaning Workers' Party.
Bolsonaro is the latest of several far-right leaders around the globe who have come to power by riding waves of anger at the establishment and promising to ditch the status quo.
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