Since defeating Jair Bolsonaro in the recent presidential election, Lula and his far-left party pushed the vaccine on Brazilians, something his predecessor vowed to never do.
"I wanted to make an appeal to every mother, grandmother, grandfather, father, teenager, and child," Lula began. "Let's not believe in denialism. Let's not believe in the nonsense that is said against the vaccine."
"You may not like or want to take the vaccine," he continued, "but you have an obligation to love your son, your daughter, your mother, your father, and it is important for us to ensure that people take the vaccine to prevent greater tragedies in our lives."
Lula went on to suggest that "the vaccine is the only guarantee you have" against death from Covid-19, warning those who refuse to get the jab that they run a much higher risk of "dying due to lack of responsibility."
"The vaccine is a guarantee of life," he said. "That's why I took my fifth vaccine today. If there is a sixth, I will take the sixth. If there is a seventh, I will take the seventh."
As Lula spoke, the crowd cheered and his government's smiling vaccination mascot danced behind him.
Lula's messaging is in stark contrast to that of his predecessor. Bolsonaro was staunchly opposed to vaccine mandates, and called out manufacturers such as Pfizer for their refusal to accept responsibility for any side effects or complications.
"If you turn into a crocodile, it's your problem," Bolsonaro said. "If you become superhuman, if a woman starts to grow a beard, or if a man starts to speak with an effeminate voice, they will not have anything to do with it."
Speaking in Florida earlier this year, Bolsonaro defended his policies, saying, "There is something more important than our lives, which is our freedom."
