Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with police as they storm the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, January 8, 2023 © AP / Eraldo Peres
Source: RT
The newly-inaugurated Brazilian president has declared a state of emergency after former leader's supporters overran government buildings
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has declared a state of emergency in the Federal District of Brasilia after thousands of supporters of his right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, overran Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential Planalto Palace.
The leftist leader, inaugurated just last week, gave the order on Sunday, appointing justice minister Ricardo Garcia Capelli to lead the ‘federal intervention’. Lula’s order gives Capelli the power to ask both civil and military bodies for “the necessary means to achieve the object of the intervention.”
The scope of the order, which expires at the end of the month, is limited to Brasilia’s Federal District, and its stated aim is to “end the serious compromising of public order in the State in the Federal District, marked by acts of violence and invasion of public buildings.”
To achieve that goal, Capelli may call upon “the financial, technological, structural, and human resources of the Federal District” – including, but not limited to, the military and police – as needed.
By Sunday evening, after hours of clashes and hundreds of arrests, riot police managed to regain control of the government buildings using tear-gas and water cannons. The Justice Minister announced that at least 200 people were detained, and warned that the arrests could continue throughout the night, as authorities are trying to identify everyone involved in what he dubbed an act of “terrorism” and an attempted “coup.”
Promising to make those responsible for the chaos “pay with the force of the law” in a speech broadcast to his social networks, Lula pledged to get to the bottom of “who are the financiers” of the swarm of protesters – most outfitted in matching attire with the colors of the Brazilian flag – who rushed through a barricade and into the government buildings.
He denounced the demonstrators as “vandals and fascists,” blaming Bolsonaro for filling their heads with extremism. The former leader’s supporters have been staging chaotic demonstrations since he lost a close election to his leftist rival in October, blocking roads, setting vehicles on fire, and at one point even surrounding a military facility to try to convince the soldiers inside to rise up and restore Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro left Brazil several days before the traditional handoff ceremony installing Lula in the presidency rather than appear to legitimize the leftist’s win by showing up, maintaining that his defeat had been unfair even as he condemned the violent protests that had resulted. Lula blamed what he described as the day’s “unprecedented” violence on his nemesis, declaring “this is also the responsibilities of him and of the parties that belong to him.”
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Bolsonaro was in process of turning Brazil's state institutions, natural resources (such as OIL) from national coffers to private pockets. Control of Brazil's energy is precisely what the USA wants. The moment Lula won the election he took measure to reverse Bolsonaro's decisions and keep Petrobras national, which is something the US is rabidly against, though you won’t hear them say it publicly. The US is deeply embedded economically and politically within Brazil including its intelligence services who operate in ways to push the US economic objectives. Yes, the country is divided, but look how they got there with bags of monetary influence. Once a combined effort of US intelligence and internal political opposition had Lula removed from power the first time in 2014, they began a covert economic operation to turn political opinion towards US positions...the CIA does this very well all over the world as we have surely seen in Ukraine...protest is easy to create as is a violent one...
ReplyDeleteLula is pro BRICS and was there during its inception…Bolsonaro seemed more to drag his feet when it came to BRICS...lots of talk, no action.
The USA has had 8 years to undermine the Brazilian people and they’ve done so.
I can tell you that the USA under Obama did everything they could to break up the rise of the South American opposition to the USA 13 years ago and was largely successful...this has not changed under Biden. Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador were targeted because they stood against American Imperialism. Lula was Brazil's leader then. His removal from power into jail was the result of the US intelligence interference in Brazil's internal politics...Brazil is now indeed divided and all electronic voting system's can be manipulated. However, the USA does not support Lula, they support their own interests which Lula will not give them as you will see. In fact, I predict there will be a resurgence of anti-American Imperialism in the region but this time with more outside help. 😉