The Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, stated this Thursday (8) that crimes committed against the Democratic Rule of Law are “unprescriptible and not subject to pardon, grace or amnesty, especially when they involve armed civilian and military groups”.
When participating in an official event, at Palácio do Planalto, which marks the 3rd anniversary of the attacks perpetrated by protesters supporting former president Jair Bolsonaro on the headquarters of the Three Powers, in Brasília, the minister also warned that it is necessary to maintain vigilance in relation to acts that threaten democracy.
“Although among us, the republican institutions themselves have, at great cost, managed to defeat the attempt, we must always keep in mind Thomas Jefferson’s famous warning: ‘The price of freedom is eternal vigilance’”, he said.
“The solemnity today [quinta-feira]which has been repeated every year, has precisely this purpose, to remind everyone that we need to remain united and vigilant in defense of our freedom, which was rescued with great difficulty”, added Lewandowski.
During the event, the vice-president of the Republic and minister of Development, Industry and Commerce, Geraldo Alckmin, argued that those who committed crimes should suffer severe punishment. “If, after losing the elections, they attempted a coup d’état, imagine what they would not have done if they had won the elections,” he said.
When quoting the former governor of São Paulo Mário Covas, Alckmin declared that “public men and women can be a little more to the right, a little more to the left, a little taller, a little shorter, a little stronger, a little weaker. What differentiates is who has an appreciation for democracy and who does not.”
“Three years after the fateful January 8th, this meeting shows the strength of Brazilian institutions. The Three Powers reacted in unison to January 8th. The Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. Good institutions make a difference. People pass. Institutions stay. And good institutions help the country so that it can move forward”, stated Alckmin.
