2024-01-06 04:45:44
PRESIDENT Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will gather Brazilian political figures on Monday (8/1) to commemorate the anniversary of the right-wing riots that rocked the capital. However, the absence of several key figures undermined his message of unity. The veteran leftist had been back in office just one week when tens of thousands of supporters of the right-wing former president who lost the election, Jair Bolsonaro, stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court on January 8, 2023, vandalizing the buildings and calling on the military to oust Lula. The riots in Brasilia, which were immediately compared to the invasion of the Capitol in Washington two years earlier by supporters of Donald Trump, exposed a stark cleavage in the rampant violence in Brazil after Lula’s narrow victory over Bolsonaro the previous October. Also read: Brazil Fires Coach Fernando Diniz After World Cup Struggle Overall, the cleavage is less striking at the moment. The far-right is still feeling the impact of the backlash against the unrest, as well as the election authorities’ decision in June last year to ban Bolsonaro from running for eight years because of his attacks on the credibility of the electoral system. But analysts say deep cracks remain. The unrest “strengthens faith in democracy” in Brazil, whose fledgling constitution dates only to the end of the 1964-1985 military regime, said political scientist Geraldo Monteiro, of Rio de Janeiro State University. “But people are still polarized,” he told AFP. Also read: Brazil’s inflation slows again in November Of the 2,170 people arrested during the unrest, 30 have been convicted so far, on charges of armed criminal conspiracy, violent rebellion against rule of law, and attempted coup, with sentences of up to 17 years. Bolsonaro, who was in the United States at the time, is under investigation for allegedly inciting the riot. He denied responsibility. Democracy Unwavering Lula, 78, will mark the anniversary by speaking at a ceremony at the Congress building, with attendees including the heads of both parliaments, state governors, military chiefs, foreign ambassadors and other figures. The event, called “Unshakable Democracy,” will feature a re-presentation of compositions by iconic Brazilian artist and landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx, which were vandalized from the walls of the Senate and torn up during the riots. A replica of the constitution taken from the Supreme Court will also be returned symbolically. Lula, who previously served two terms as president in the 2000s, said Jan. 8 “left deep wounds,” but that “democracy emerged victorious.” He will try to use this opportunity to deliver a message of unity, said political scientist Andre Cesar, of consulting firm Hold. But there will be conspicuous absences on the right, such as Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio Freitas, a former Bolsonaro minister considered a possible presidential candidate. Opposition figures “don’t want to strengthen Lula’s image as a great builder of… national unity,” Cesar said. Patriots Day Bolsonaro’s die-hard supporters meanwhile remain loyal to the January 8 protesters. The charges against them are “pure political repression,” influential evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, a close Bolsonaro ally, told AFP. “Have you ever seen a coup without weapons? Have you ever seen a terrorist attack without bombs?” As the anniversary approached, calls circulated on social media to celebrate January 8 as “Patriots Day” and take to the streets to “freeze” the country. However, authorities said they did not expect mass protests. Analysts say January 8 has become the latest test in Brazil’s culture war, which has divided the South American giant on issues such as gun control, LGBTQ+ rights and abortion. “This has turned from politics into a question of identity,” Cesar said. Today, Brasilia, the ultra-modern style capital inaugurated in 1960, shows few signs of the chaos of the past year. The trio’s invaded glass concrete buildings, designed by legendary modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer, have been restored. Authorities have refrained from closing them, maintaining the capital’s founding ideal as a “transparent city,” albeit “with fragile fences,” said city planner Jorge Francisconi. (AFP/Z-3)
PRESIDENT Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will gather Brazilian political figures on Monday (8/1) to commemorate the anniversary of the right-wing riots that rocked the capital. However, the absence of several key figures undermined his message of unity.
The veteran leftist had been back in office just one week when tens of thousands of supporters of the right-wing former president who lost the election, Jair Bolsonaro, stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court on January 8, 2023, vandalizing the buildings and calling on the military to oust Lula.
The riots in Brasilia, which were immediately compared to the invasion of the Capitol in Washington two years earlier by supporters of Donald Trump, exposed a stark cleavage in the rampant violence in Brazil after Lula’s narrow victory over Bolsonaro the previous October.
Also read: Brazil Fires Coach Fernando Diniz After Struggle in World Cup
Overall, the cleavage is less striking at this time. The far-right is still feeling the impact of the backlash against the unrest, as well as the election authorities’ decision in June last year to ban Bolsonaro from running for eight years because of his attacks on the credibility of the electoral system. But analysts say deep cracks remain.
The unrest “strengthens faith in democracy” in Brazil, whose fledgling constitution dates only to the end of the 1964-1985 military regime, said political scientist Geraldo Monteiro, of Rio de Janeiro State University. “But people are still polarized,” he told AFP.
Also read: Brazil’s inflation slows again in November
Of the 2,170 people arrested during the unrest, 30 have been convicted so far, on charges of armed criminal conspiracy, violent rebellion against the rule of law, and attempted coup, with sentences of up to 17 years.
Bolsonaro, who was in the United States at the time, is under investigation for allegedly inciting the riot. He denied responsibility.
Unshakable Democracy
Lula, 78, will mark the anniversary by speaking at a ceremony at the Congress building, with attendees including the heads of both parliaments, state governors, military chiefs, foreign ambassadors and other figures.
The event, called “Unshakable Democracy,” will feature a re-presentation of compositions by iconic Brazilian artist and landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx, which were vandalized from the walls of the Senate and torn up during the riots. A replica of the constitution taken from the Supreme Court will also be returned symbolically.
Lula, who previously served two terms as president in the 2000s, said Jan. 8 “left deep wounds,” but that “democracy emerged victorious.”
He will try to use this opportunity to deliver a message of unity, said political scientist Andre Cesar, of consulting firm Hold. But there will be conspicuous absences on the right, such as Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio Freitas, a former Bolsonaro minister considered a possible presidential candidate.
Opposition figures “don’t want to strengthen Lula’s image as a great builder of… national unity,” Cesar said.
Patriots Day
Bolsonaro’s die-hard supporters meanwhile remain loyal to the January 8 protesters. The charges against them are “pure political repression,” influential evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, a close Bolsonaro ally, told AFP.
“Have you ever seen a coup without weapons? Have you ever seen a terrorist attack without bombs?”
As the anniversary approached, calls circulated on social media to celebrate January 8 as “Patriots Day” and take to the streets to “freeze” the country. However, authorities said they did not expect mass protests.
Analysts say January 8 has become the latest test in Brazil’s culture war, which has divided the South American giant on issues such as gun control, LGBTQ+ rights and abortion. “This has turned from politics into a question of identity,” Cesar said.
Today, Brasilia, the ultra-modern style capital inaugurated in 1960, shows few signs of the chaos of the past year. The trio’s invaded glass concrete buildings, designed by legendary modernist architect Oscar Niemeyer, have been restored.
Authorities have refrained from closing them, maintaining the capital’s founding ideal as a “transparent city,” albeit “with fragile fences,” said city planner Jorge Francisconi. (AFP/Z-3)
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