far-right protesters, supporters of President Jair Bolsonarosparked serious riots on Monday night in central Brasilia to protest the arrest of an instigator of pro-coup acts.
the Bolsonarists they tried to force their way in in an administrative building of the Federal Police, in the center of Brasilia, but were rejected by the security forces.
The riots spread to a hotel sector near the police headquarters, in the area where the accommodation is located where the president-elect of Brazil resides, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who will assume power on 1 January.
The police have set up a special security device around the hotel and even moved a helicopter to the building, but ultimately the president-elect was not evacuated.
After checking the situation on the streets, the future Justice Minister in Lula’s cabinet, Flávio Dino, guaranteed that Lula is “safe” and “at no time” was he exposed “to any risk”.
Buses and cars on fire
Protesters set fire to several vehicles, including cars that were parked near the Federal Police building, and various city buses.
Some protesters pushed a bus until it got off hanging from the edge of a viaduct which crosses two of the main avenues of the capital.
Other radicals wreaked havoc at a nearby gas station, where they set fire to a car.
Local authorities have so far not carried out an assessment of the damages, nor have they communicated whether there have been any arrests due to the unrest, which have been checked. about three hours later before the violence erupted, by cavalry and police officers using rubber bullets and tear gas.
protest for an arrest
The protest was a response to the arrest of an indigenous cacique of the Bolsonarist ideologyaccused of instigating coup protests.
The boss José Acácio Serere Xavante was arrested on the orders of a Supreme Court magistrate, on suspicion that organized “anti-democratic demonstrations”. in various places in Brasilia”, including the invasion of the capital’s airport last week by a group of indigenous people.
While detained by the Federal Police, Xavante called on protesters to stop violent acts such as “burning cars and attacking the Federal Police” in a video sent to the media.
government silence
The future Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, promised in a press conference that all those involved in vandalism “They will be held accountable.”
No authority, however, of the government led by Bolsonaro he condemned the attacks until late morning.
The government’s only pronouncement came from the Minister of Justice, Anderson Torres, who said it on social networks “everything will be investigated and clarified” and ensured that the Federal Police cooperate with local authorities to “contain the violence and restore order”.
Hours before the accidents, Bolsonaro came to encourage to a group of hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in front of the Alvorada palace, his official residence.
On that occasion Bolsonaro did not speak, but was close by a priest shouting slogans against Lula to the extremists, who have been gathering in front of the barracks for a month to ask the military to stage a coup.
Last Friday Bolsonaro spoke to his followers for the first time, after they were silent for about 40 daysand urged them to stop asking for military intervention and to think “what each of them can do for the homeland”.
The riots occurred on the day Lula he received the diploma that accredits him as president-electpreparatory procedure for the investiture, scheduled for next January 1st.
Since the second round of elections, held on October 30, Bolsonaro He has not publicly acknowledged his defeat nor did he congratulate Lula, who won by a narrow margin of less than two percentage points.
However, Bolsonaro allowed the government transition to get underway.
EFE extension
Source: Clarin
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.