What is known about the assault on official headquarters in Brasilia

Thousands of supporters of the far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro They attacked on Sunday official headquarters in Brasiliamotivated by a deep “anti-communism” and misinformation about the elections that brought to power the leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

This is what is known about the political heart attack Brazil:

Hundreds of detainees

Federal Police detained 1,843 people after the riots, which occurred a week after Lula assumed command of Brazil for the third time.

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The majority were in a camp, installed two months ago in front of an army command, from where they demanded a military intervention to prevent Lula’s rise to power.

As of Wednesday, 1,159 remained in custody, after 684 – many of them elderly or infirm, parents of young children and homeless people – were released to await trial.

The charges against the rioters include “terrorism”, criminal association, attack against the democratic state, participation in an attempted coup and incitement to crime.

In this file photo taken on January 8, 2023, members of the Federal Legislative Police stand next to a vehicle that crashed into a fountain as supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro invaded the National Congress in Brasilia. (Sergio Lima / AFP /)

DF authorities, in the crosshairs

Federal District authorities are targeted by the government and the Supreme Court.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes on Thursday ordered the opening of an investigation into the conduct of the suspended district governor, Ibaneis Rocha, and the capital’s public security commanders during the “terrorist acts.”

By order of the magistrate, Rocha was removed from office for 90 days.

The prosecution will assume the investigations against Rocha and others pointed out by Moraes: Anderson Torres, former Minister of Justice of Bolsonaro and dismissed Secretary of Security of Brasilia; Fernando de Sousa Oliveira, former interim Secretary of Security; and Fabio Augusto, commander of the military police of the Federal District.

Moraes on Tuesday issued a prison order against Augusto and Torres – who was on vacation in the United States at the time of the violence – for “omission and collusion.”

The government, for its part, is convinced that some members of the security forces were “colluding” with the protesters.

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro clash with police during a demonstration in front of the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on January 8, 2023. (EVARISTO SA / AFP/)

behind the funders

Lula has emphasized the need to investigate how the protesters, many of whom arrived by bus from other states on the same day of the violent acts, were financed.

The General Advocacy of the Union (AGU) identified on Thursday 52 people and seven companies that are suspected of having financed the mobilization.

The 77-year-old president also questioned the financing of the camps set up in front of several military commands in different cities, dismantled on Monday after the excesses.

“It is not possible for a movement to last so long in front of the barracks if there are no people to finance it. We are going to investigate and find out who financed them,” he said.

In this file photo taken on January 8, 2023, members of the Federal Legislative Police stand next to a vehicle that crashed into a fountain as supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro invaded the National Congress in Brasilia. (Sergio Lima / AFP /)

property damage

The three vandalized buildings, the Planalto Presidential Palace, the Supreme Court and the Congress, are treasures of modern architecture by the famous Oscar Niemeyer.

Brasilia, the work of the architect and urban planner Lucio Costa and the brilliant Niemeyer, was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987.

“Most of the damage to buildings is reversible,” Mauricio Goulart, technical coordinator of the Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage, reassured Thursday.

In addition to representing the State, the venues are full of rare furniture and works by great artists, as well as international donations.

Among the works affected are the granite statue “La Justicia” (1961), by the Brazilian Alfredo Ceschiatti; a watch made by Balthazar Martinot, watchmaker to King Louis XIV of France; or the painting “Las mulatas” (1962), by Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, one of the masters of Brazilian modernism.

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro break a window as they invade the Planalto Presidential Palace in Brasilia. (Sergio Lima / AFP /)

“Anti-communism” and misinformation

Bolsonaro sympathizers refuse to see Lula ruling again. They believe that she will implant “communism” in Brazil, a speech that Bolsonaro repeated during the campaign.

Following their leader, who denies any link to the violence, they believe, without evidence, that there was fraud in the October elections, in which the leftist won the second round by a narrow margin.

According to experts consulted by AFP, the dissemination of false statements, especially on social networks, was a relevant element for the “rationalization” of the attacks.

“We are going to be tougher against ‘fake news’. This people cannot be subordinated to lies, ”Lula said Thursday, announcing more“ harshness ”against radical Bolsonarism, which she considers “fascist ”.

Source: Elcomercio