December 27, 2022, 1:46 PM
December 27, 2022, 1:46 PM
Brasilia will deploy all its police for the presidential inauguration of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on January 1, the authorities said Tuesday, given concerns about the riots and the attempted attack with an explosive carried out by Bolsonarists who dissatisfied with the election.
On Sunday, January 1, “there will be a mobilization of 100% of the police forces of the Federal District (DF), to guarantee the security not only of the president, but also of foreign delegations and the public,” Flávio Dino, future security minister in Lula’s government, told reporters.
At the moment, “there is no alteration” of the plans for the ceremony, added Dino, in response to the possibility that Lula would parade before the public on the Esplanade of the Ministries inside a closed car, instead of the traditional ride in a vintage convertible.
“Both scenarios will be available that day” and the decision will be made “at the moment,” he added in a conference with the future defense minister and the governor of the Federal District, responsible for the local police.
It will be a ceremony “safe” and “at peace”said Dino, who encouraged Brazilians to travel from other states to attend the institutional acts and cultural shows planned in the central region of Brasilia, where hundreds of thousands of people are expected.
Numerous Lula supporters expressed on social media their fear of riots or attacks in the crowd during the inauguration, especially after a supporter of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro was arrested and charged with terrorism on Saturday for planting an explosive in a fuel truck. near the Brasilia airport.
Although there was an attempt to activate itthe device failed to explode.
The man, identified as George Washington de Oliveira Sousa, told investigators that the attack was intended to “start chaos” and “prevent the establishment of communism in Brazil.”
since the defeat of Bolsonaro by 50.9% to 49.1% in the October ballothis supporters blocked roads and demonstrated in front of military barracks to ask the armed forces to prevent Lula’s inauguration.
On December 12, protesters from one of these camps clashed with the police and set buses and cars on fire in Brasilia, after the arrest of an indigenous man who was participating in one of these acts.
“Small terrorist and extremist groups will not put the institutions of Brazilian democracy against the wall,” Dino said Tuesday.
Bolsonaro, who has limited his public appearances after the defeat, has not commented publicly on the incidents, nor has he confirmed that he will transfer the presidential sash to Lula on Sunday.
