Brazil decrees official mourning for Mandela

Brasília – Brazil will observe a seven-day mourning period for the former South African president, Nelson Mandela, as of this Friday (December 6). Mandela 's funeral will be on December 15th.

The former president will be buried with head-of-state honors and several world leaders are expected at the funeral. President Dilma Rousseff will fly to South Africa for the ceremony.

On December 10, a national memorial ceremony will be held at a stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg. His body will be on display at the seat of the presidency in Pretoria, between the 11th and 13th of December. On the 15th, Mandela will be buried in the village of Qunu, in the south, where he grew up. South Africa will have a national mourning week starting on Sunday (Dec, 8).

Mandela was the first black president of South Africa, ruling the country between 1994 and 1999. Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1993, he died from respiratory complications at age 95. His death was announced by South African President Jacob Zuma on a televised broadcast.

Edited by Denise Griesinger / Nira Foster
Translated by Mayra Borges