The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, met the public powers in Brasilia on January 9 while some 1,500 people were detained after the invasion on Sunday of official buildings by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro
Text: RFI / AFP
The heads of public powers in Brazil, led by Brazilian President Lula da Silva, closed ranks against the acts of vandalism that occurred on Sunday, when thousands of supporters of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the headquarters of the Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court.
In an unusual joint statement, published on Lula’s Twitter, the heads of the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Supreme Court rejected the “terrorist, vandal, criminal and coup acts” in the capital.
Joint demonstration between the two presidents of the Republic, assassinated in the manhã de hoje, in repudiation of the coup leaders of ontem in Brasília. #TeamLula pic.twitter.com/p6dOtuh8S6
– Lula (@LulaOficial) January 9, 2023
Dismantled camps in Brazil
The acts of Sunday were condemned in unison by the international community. The Brazilian authorities launched since Sunday night investigations to find those responsible for the riots and their possible financiers.
As of Monday, some 1,500 people had been detained, reported Flavio Dino, Minister of Justice and Security, specifying that most of them were in a camp in Brasilia from where a large number of the attackers left. Hundreds of police and military were deployed this Monday in different parts of the country to dismantle similar structures.
«I work in Congress, so I am aware of some things that happened inside, of very valuable works of art by Brazilian artists that disappeared, others that were attacked with knives. And well, there are people who want to compare it with what happened in the United States, but in the United States the day happened when they were trying to legitimize the results of the elections, and they managed to get in because the incumbent president, Trump, harangued them at that time. Here they did it on a Sunday, because there were no people in any of the buildings, so there would already be fewer policemen to stop them and no, they did not have a clear order, except for military intervention. That is why they are persecuting all of them. One thing that is very interesting to me is a group they put together called Contragolpe Brasil, where they are putting the faces of all those who were in the demonstration and they are identifying them one by one,” a man who works in Congress told RFI. .
Listen to Carlos Pizarro’s report with testimonials:
«I think some kind of reaction was expected, but never a violent reaction. What the people wanted was for the Armed Forces to intervene, because they wanted the elections to be transparent, which did not happen. Now the news that comes from Brazil abroad is very sad because they portray the people as coup terrorists. And it is not like that. Many are talking and blaming Bolsonaro, but no, because the people were not looking for anything other than to know the truth regarding the elections,” said a Bolsonaro supporter who participated peacefully.
*Read also: Bolsonaro reproached the protests in Brazil and affirmed that they “escape the rule”
Invitation to the United States
Lula, who at the time of the events was in Araraquara, in the state of Sao Paulo (southeast), to observe the disasters caused by recent floods, has questioned the late and unprepared response of law enforcement. He also blamed Bolsonaro’s “speeches” for having “stimulated” the “fascist hooligans.”
Bolsonaro was hospitalized this Monday and is under observation for a discomfort in the abdomen, an area where he was stabbed in 2018 during a rally, his wife Michelle reported. Brazilian media reported that the former president is hospitalized in Orlando (Florida, southeastern United States).
On the other hand, the US president Joe Biden invited Lula to visit him in Washington in early February, according to a joint statement after a telephone conversation held this Monday, in which it was stated that the invitation had been accepted. Biden expressed during this exchange with his counterpart the “unwavering support of the United States for Brazilian democracy and the expression of the free will of the Brazilian people, expressed in the recent presidential elections won by President Lula.”
*Read also: Was the attempted insurrection in Brazil foreseeable?
Vandalism
“It is urgent to assess the damage and begin the recovery and restoration of all the heritage that was brutally and absurdly destroyed. A painting by Di Cavalcanti destroyed with knives reveals the ignorance and violence of these abominable acts,” Culture Minister Margareth Menezes wrote on Twitter.
It is urgent that we guarantee the damages and begin to recover and restore all patrimony that was brutally and absurdly devastated. A painting by Di Cavalcanti destroyed by façades reveals such ignorance and violence against abominable acts.
— Margareth Menezes (@MagaAfroPop) January 9, 2023
In a statement, the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) “deeply regretted the damage caused” and assured that an expert opinion would be carried out shortly to “assess the restoration needs.”
According to experts linked to the Planalto Palace, the recovery of most of the works is possible, but there are cases in which restoration will be very difficult, reports the Brazilian press. The Planalto Palace has made public a preliminary list of vandalized works.
Nesta second-feira (9), to Minister of Culture @MagaAfroPop eo secretary-executive @marciotsantos will meet with representatives of @UNESCOBrazil and do @IphanGovBr to discuss strategies for the recovery of Cultural Heritage after the events that occurred on the last Sunday. pic.twitter.com/YC9iolwGif
— Ministry of Culture (@CulturaGovBr) January 10, 2023
This Tuesday, representatives of the Government will meet with UNESCO and IPHAN “to discuss strategies for the recovery of Cultural Heritage after the events that occurred last Sunday,” the Ministry of Culture reported on Twitter.
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