8 January 2023. Brasilia, the capital of Brazil and a city of bureaucrats, is more deserted than usual. Seven days have passed since Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returned to power surrounded by 300,000 supporters in a party that ended without incident. Since the worst fears have not materialized, there is general relief. It’s Sunday. The new (and old) president visits a flood-hit city of São Paulo, newly arrived ministers assemble their teams, the republic’s key authorities are on New Year’s vacation like half the country and Jair Bolsonaro reflects on his defeat in Florida (USA) .
Despite warnings of a Brazilian version of the attack on the Capitol, the attack by thousands of Bolsonarists in the heart of democracy took almost everyone by surprise. Six months after that infamous day, which is already part of Brazilian history, police, judicial and journalistic investigations allow a clearer picture of the attack and some of its derivatives.
Bolsonaro supporters in front of the Planalto Palace, on January 8, 2023. SERGIO LIMA (AFP)
warnings
With Bolsonaro still in power for four days, the internal spy agency (ABIN, the Portuguese acronym) submitted a report with a special warning to the outgoing government and the interim cabinet led by Lula. Everyone pay attention because “the red berets” are in Brasilia, he said. He was referring to a group of eight soldiers with an anti-democracy past who had arrived at the camp set up by Ultra-Bolsonarists outside army headquarters after Lula’s victory to demand a coup from the military. The document, submitted to a parliamentary commission and published by the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper, said: “It is estimated that you have the ability, motivation and means to plan, carry out or commit a violent extremist act support.” There was a fear that the Red Barets would attack the investiture ceremony.
For weeks, the Bolsonaristas camped outside barracks across the country had been delivering an enigmatic message to anyone who would listen: they were going to the capital because something important was going to happen there, without giving any further details. As Lula entered his third term, invitations to attend “Selma’s party” on Sunday, Jan. 8 at the Plaza de los Tres Poderes, flanked by Congress, the Presidency and the Supreme Court, began happily rattling among Bolsonaro netizens circulate. They used slogans like “Freedom is not won, it is conquered” and the term “Selma” replaced “Jungle!”, a classic battle cry of the Brazilian military fighting in the Amazon.
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Bolsonaro supporters arrested by police at Planalto Palace On video, this was the attack on Congress in Brazil. Photo: AP | Video: EPV
And there was a demonstration of the campers. They would march to Brazil’s institutional heart – eight kilometers – and so on Friday ten government agencies debated the use of security forces. But on Sunday only 400 officers were on duty. The thousands of Bolsonaristas, dressed in Canarinha shirts and draped in Brazilian flags, were escorted by police to the last security barrier, with some uniformed men taking selfies with them… In an instant, the peaceful march was a full-blown assault.
The invaders
Proof of the harshness of the judges: Six months later, 211 of the 1,400 people arrested for the assault are still in preventive detention, even though Brazil is an extremely guarantee-oriented country. Those arrested are a motley crew of people who, mistakenly believing a conspiracy by judges and the media stole the election from Bolsonaro, turned up in the capital one day to do something about it while truck drivers blocked roads . Among the detainees, men over 45 stand out, the most typical profile of the Bolsonaro voter, but there are also retirees with grandchildren, cleaners, nutritionists, truck drivers, 23 military police officers and some influenced by networks … people inhabiting a parallel universe and that they could never imagine ending up behind bars.
A protester holds a flag with Bolsonaro’s image at the Planalto Palace. ADRIANO MACHADO (Portal)
The Supreme Court has already indicted around 1,300 people, almost all of them. He did so in virtual sessions without the live deliberations between judges that were common until the pandemic. Those arrested in the full-scale invasion have been charged with forcibly abolishing the democratic state, belonging to an armed criminal gang, coup d’etat, and damaging and degrading public property, crimes punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Those arrested in the camp face a prison sentence of up to four years for incitement to hatred. And an agent is prosecuted for dereliction of duty. The judges analyzed the complaints in blocks of 250 detainees each.
It is planned to judge them in groups of 30 people in Brasilia in the coming months. The police are also looking for the donors and instigators, the latter accusation weighs on Bolsonaro, who will be unable to work until 2030, not because of the attack, but because of misinformation and delegitimization of the election process. Congress also set up a commission of inquiry, which this week included Bolsonaro’s private secretary, Lt. Col. Mauro Cid, who police spotted talking to other soldiers on his cellphone coup. He kept silent so as not to incriminate himself; He is in prison for falsifying his vaccination card.
Lula da Silva visits the Planalto Palace after the January 8 protests. Eraldo Peres (AP)
The complicity
Former President Bolsonaro has been questioned by police over the Supreme Court allegations that he facilitated the abuse, but at the moment this case has no other action for him. One of the key characters in the plot is Police Commissioner Anderson Torres, who was the far-right Attorney General until December 31. The following day, January 1, Lula assumed the presidency and Torres became the capital’s Minister of Public Security (and thus politically responsible for the security forces). The first thing he did in office was take a family vacation. Where? In Florida, where Bolsonaro was. It is not known if they have been found. On his return home, he was jailed after investigators found at his home a draft state of emergency decree intended to void Lula’s victory.
The picture of the attitude and actions of the military during these critical hours is still very unclear. After the attack, President Lula assumed command of the army while also serving as the sole military minister in his administration. The Bolsonarists dreamed that the armed forces would block the way to the left in this country suffering from a dictatorship (1964-1985). And while Bolsonaro is popular with the grassroots and top reserve generals, some senior officers have criticized the far-right former president’s stance and policies.
Jair Bolsonaro reacts to his departure from the federal police headquarters after his statement on July 12. The former president denied any involvement in an alleged coup attempt. Andre Borges (EFE)
The day D
Justice Minister Flavio Dino, a former judge and governor, was one of the few authorities to remain in Brasilia this Sunday in the southern summer. I was waiting for the Ultras rally. Both Federal District Governor Ibaneis Rocha (an ally of Bolsonaro) and Defense Minister José Mucio (of Lula) told him on January 8 that the protest was going quietly, so the minister went to eat at the family.
Soon the shock: Thousands of Bolsonarists have just breached the containment barrier. Dino immediately heads to the office, a glass-enclosed room two steps from the epicenter of the violence that shook the very foundations of democracy. Although he was on alert when thousands of people poured into Congress – in the aerial photos they are a fast stream of green and yellow ants – like his countrymen he was stunned: “I was perplexed and outraged because it was a very strong one Police gave.” “The stake is small, contrary to what is stated in the documentary,” he told BBC Brazil. At first he felt tremendous helplessness because in Brazil the police on the streets depend on the governors and he was unable to communicate with Governor Rocha whom Lula had ousted from office in a frenzy. Minister Dino quickly got to work and “made decisions that are not legally my responsibility”. The mobilization of hundreds of agents neutralized the ultra attack.
An official inspects the damage caused by protesters at the Planalto Palace on January 9, 2023.UESLEI MARCELINO (Portal)
One of the police officers who faced the Bolsonaristas for three hours said it was “a point of honor” to prevent them from entering the holiest place of popular sovereignty, the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies. In a documentary, he adds that the Ultras said the military would come to their aid. And he recalls the most shocking moment: “I was shocked to see people praying on their knees” while other extremists smashed windows, furniture and artwork.
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