Brasilia redoubles security awaiting new demonstrations by Bolsonaro radicals

The government of Brazil redoubled security in Brasilia this Wednesday, when followers of former President Jair Bolsonaro announced another march towards the headquarters of public powers, three days after violent protests devastated Congress, the Supreme Court and the Presidency.

While More than 650 people continue to be detained for participating in “terrorist acts”according to the authorities, a call was circulating on social networks to protest in several capitals under the slogan “National mega demonstration to retake power”.

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In Brasiliathe government activated the forces of order to protect the Esplanade of the Ministriesa long avenue that concentrates the headquarters buildings of the State secretariats and that ends at the National Congress, the presidential palace of Planalto and the supreme court.

The space demarcated by the Square of the Three Powers was invaded by Bolsonarista protesters on Sunday, when they looted and vandalized the buildings that symbolize power in Brazil.

“There is no hypothesis that the unacceptable events that occurred on January 8 are repeated in the federal capital,” said Vice Minister of Justice Ricardo Cappelli.

LOOK: The shocking images of the seizure of government buildings in Brazil by Bolsonaro radicals | PHOTOS

Cappelli, who was appointed by the president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to command the security forces of Brasilia after the episodes on Sunday, announced the installation of “barriers, checkpoints and blockades” at the accesses to the Esplanade and ordered to stop the circulation of vehicles in the adjacent avenues.

More than a dozen police vehicles, including trucks from the shock forces, guard the Square of the Three Powers, that was surrounded, verified the AFP.

Protesters were not seen around until early afternoon, while heavy rain fell in the Brazilian capital.

“Omission and collusion”

Authorities investigate who organized the protests and if there was financing for the demonstrators. They are also investigating those responsible for ensuring the safety of the capital.

LOOK: Brazil: Thousands of followers of Jair Bolsonaro invade Congress, the Presidency and the Supreme Court

The governor of the Federal District, Ibanéis Rocha, was provisionally removed from office while the investigations progress, and a minister of the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Anderson Torres, former minister of Bolsonaro and who served as Secretary of Security of the capital, for alleged “omission and collusion” with the excesses of Sunday.

Torres, who was fired from his position after the riots, is in the United States on vacation and said he will return to the country. “I will appear before the court to take care of my defense,” he said on Twitter without specifying the date of his return.

The images of the violence on Sunday, which were reminiscent of the January 6, 2021 attacks on the United States Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, show the Bolsonaristas devastating everything in their path.

They broke windows, tore pictures, destroyed furniture, and invaded the offices of magistrates, deputies, and the Executive Cabinet.

The damage to the national patrimony has not yet been quantified.

The venues were empty, with Lula in the interior of the country visiting a city hit by rain, and the congressmen in parliamentary recess.

“Crazed People”

Lulathe most popular politician in recent Brazilian history, whose image was tarnished by corruption scandals, marked his return to the political scene by assuming the Presidency for the third time on January 1.

The 77-year-old leftist leader, who previously ruled between 2003 and 2010, defeated Bolsonaro in last October’s presidential election by less than two points, a result that denoted the country’s political division.

Hundreds of Bolsonaristas set up camps in front of military headquarters, dissatisfied with the electoral result, a protest that led to the acts on Sunday.

In an unprecedented situation in the recent history of BrazilSome 1,500 people were arrested for the violent demonstrations, but some were released in the last few hours.

“[Se trata de] a group of crazy people who still do not understand that the election is over,” Lula said on Wednesday, after meeting with representatives of Congress.

“I don’t even want to think that it is a coup (d’état), it is something minor,” he said. Lula. “Unfortunately, the president who left power on the 31st does not want to acknowledge defeat,” he added, referring to Bolsonaro, who did not participate in the handover ceremony.

Lula thanked Congress for quickly approving his presidential decree to intervene in public security in the Federal District.

In Washington, the member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) unanimously condemned this Wednesday the acts of a “fascist nature” in Brazil.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.