Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Tuesday, January 10, 2023
Brazil Police Clear Camp of Pro-Bolsonaro Protesters; Over 1,200 Arrested
A demonstrator reacts next to members of security forces as supporters
of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro leave a camp outside the
Army Headquarters, in Brasilia, Brazil, on Jan. 9, 2023. (Amanda
Perobelli/Reuters)
Police in Brazil surrounded and began clearing a camp of protesters who back former President Jair Bolsonaro in the capital on Jan. 9. More than a thousand arrests were reported by local media outlets as the country’s Supreme Court ordered the immediate dismantling of the pro-Bolsonaro camps after protesters stormed government buildings over the weekend.
At least 1,200 people have been arrested at a makeshift camp outside the army headquarters in Brasília, and authorities are using dozens of buses to transport the detainees to police headquarters, according to The Brazilian Report.
Members of the Brazilian military were seen dismantling tents set up by pro-Bolsonaro supporters—as well as the demonstrators themselves—at the encampment ahead of a noon local time deadline set by authorities for the protesters to leave.
Thousands of people believed to be Bolsonaro supporters breached Brazil’s National Congress building, Supreme Court, and presidential palace on Jan. 8, prompting a massive police response.
The governor of Brasília told Reuters that all security forces had been activated to confront the protesters.
Ibaneis Rocha, governor of the Federal District, wrote on Twitter that he had fired the district security chief and “put all the security forces on the streets, with the determination to arrest and punish those responsible.”
Police retook the public buildings after roughly three hours and dispersed the crowd with tear gas.
In the wake of the incident, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the immediate dismantling of pro-Bolsonaro encampments that sprang up since the Oct. 30, 2022, runoff election in which Bolsonaro narrowly lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a socialist.
Lula was sworn in as the country’s president on Jan. 1 and held a cabinet meeting on Jan. 9 inside the presidential palace that a day earlier was overrun with protesters.
Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the “total eviction and dissolution” of pro-Bolsonaro camps set up in front of the Brazilian army headquarters in the capital and in front of army garrisons in major cities across the country.
The high court also ordered that protesters be arrested.
‘Indignation And a Sense of Injustice’
While Bolsonaro hasn’t conceded defeat to Lula, the former president in November authorized his chief of staff to begin a transition and has said he would abide by Brazil’s constitution.
Mass protests have gripped Brazil since the runoff, with Bolsonaro’s supporters casting doubt on the authenticity of the election results and demanding that the military intervene.
While Bolsonaro hasn’t directly claimed fraud in the election, he said in November that the protests were the fruit of “indignation and a sense of injustice.”
Bolsonaro condemned the Jan. 8 breaches of government buildings, saying in a series of posts on Twitter that peaceful demonstrations that take place within the bounds of the law “are part of democracy” but that “invasions of public buildings” are a step too far.
Lula, who was on a trip to Brazil’s most populous state, São Paulo, when the government buildings were breached, declared a “federal security intervention” until the end of January.
“All these people who did this will be found, and they will be punished,” he said at a press conference.
Lula blamed Bolsonaro for the incident, saying in a series of posts on Twitter that Bolsonaro gave several speeches “encouraging this” and that the breaches are “also his responsibility and the parties that supported him.”
Bolsonaro pushed back on Lula’s claim.
“I repudiate the accusations, without evidence, attributed to me by the current head of the executive of Brazil,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter.
“Throughout my mandate, I have always been within the four lines of the Constitution, respecting and defending the laws, democracy, transparency, and our sacred freedom.”
Another part of the order issued by Brazil’s Supreme Court was to hand a 90-day suspension to Rocha on Jan. 8, based on claims that local law enforcement under his command failed to respond to threats from the pro-Bolsonaro protesters.
Officials Seek to Punish Pro-Bolsonaro Protesters
In a press conference late on Jan. 8, Brazil’s minister of institutional relations said the buildings that were breached would be inspected for evidence, including fingerprints and images, to hold people to account.
Justice Minister Flávio Dino said the acts amounted to terrorism and coup-mongering and that authorities have begun tracking those who paid for the buses that transported protesters to the capital.
“They will not succeed in destroying Brazilian democracy. We need to say that fully, with all firmness and conviction,” Dino said. “We will not accept the path of criminality to carry out political fights in Brazil. A criminal is treated like a criminal.”
In a press conference from São Paulo state, Lula read a freshly signed decree for the federal government to assume control of security in the federal district. He said the protesters, who he labeled as “fascist fanatics,” as well as those who financed their activities, must be punished.
Lula also said at the press conference that there was “incompetence or bad faith” on the part of the police, and he promised that some of them would also face punishment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
400 Arrested in Brazil After Breach of Government Buildings, Bolsonaro Condemns Attack
Security forces arrest rioters after retaking control of Planalto
Presidential Palace in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023. (Ton Molina/AFP via
Getty Images)
Lula declares 'Federal Security Intervention'
More than 400 people have been arrested in Brazil as of late Jan. 8 after protesters breached and attacked the nation’s Congress, the Supreme Court, and presidential palace in the capital of Brasilia, a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Multiple videos from local broadcasters and groups related to Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, showed rioters inside the presidential palace, and smashing furniture in Congress and the Supreme Court. Security forces were initially overwhelmed by the rioters.
In posts on Twitter late on Jan. 8, Bolsonaro condemned the attacks on government buildings and pushed back against Lula who had blamed him for the riot.
“Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy,” Bolsonaro said, per a translated version of the Twitter post. “However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule.
“In addition, I repudiate the accusations, without evidence, attributed to me by the current head of the executive of Brazil,” he added. “Throughout my mandate, I have always been within the four lines of the Constitution, respecting and defending the laws, democracy, transparency and our sacred freedom.”
Bolsonaro was responding to Lula, who had earlier in the day blamed Bolsonaro for the events.
“They took advantage of the silence on Sunday, when we are still setting up the government, to do what they did,” Lula wrote in a series of Twitter posts, referring to the rioters. “And you know that there are several speeches by the former president encouraging this. And this is also his responsibility and the parties that supported him.”
Lula Declares ‘Federal Security Intervention’
Ibaneis Rocha, Brasilia’s governor, confirmed late on Jan. 8 that more than 400 people have been arrested.
‘[M]ore than 400 people have already been arrested and will pay for the crimes committed,” he said on Twitter. “We continue working to identify all the others who participated in these terrorist acts this afternoon in the Federal District. We continue to work to restore order.”
Lawmakers in Brazil are currently on recess.
Lula, who was on a trip to Brazil’s most populous state Sao Paulo when the attacks erupted, declared a “federal security intervention” until the end of January.
“All these people who did this will be found and they will be punished,” he said at a press conference.
Mass protests have persisted in Brazil since the outcome of the national election on Oct. 30 last year. Bolsonaro’s supporters doubt the authenticity of the results. They have blockaded major roads across Brazil and demanded that the military step in to intervene.
Lula, a socialist, was declared the winner with 50.9 percent of the vote. Bolsonaro has not publicly conceded, but said in a speech in November 2022 that he would abide by the country’s constitution.
Ivan Pentchoukov, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.