‘Bottles, glass, bullets’: inside the wreckage of Brazil’s failed coup A vandalized painting at the national congress in Brazil, a day after Jair Bolsonaro supporters invaded the congress, presidential palace and supreme court.
Tom Phillips in Brasília
Tue 10 Jan 2023 00.30 GMT
A blue Adolf Hitler moustache had been daubed onto a portrait of the Duke of Caxias, a 19th century prime minister, on the second floor of Brazil’s presidential palace.
A multimillion dollar masterpiece by the modernist legend Emiliano Di Cavalcanti was stabbed seven times.
Not even the palace’s press rooms escaped the wrath of thousands of far-right insurrectionists when they stormed the building on Sunday afternoon, as well as the national congress and supreme court.
After smashing their way into Oscar Niemeyer’s breathtaking curved creation, extremists relieved themselves in the press room and defecated in the room for photographers next door.
“The whole place stank of urine and beer,” one palace employee said of the moment officials reentered the building after Sunday’s day of rage to discover scenes of inconceivable depredation.
The Guardian toured two of the three ransacked buildings in Brasília on Monday afternoon, 24 hours after the attack by hardcore followers of the former president Jair Bolsonaro.
The Planalto palace and the national congress are both architectural gems at the heart of Niemeyer and urban planner Lúcio Costa’s bold 1950s vision of a new, forward-looking Brazil.
Both now appear to have been hit by a natural disaster, their outer windows smashed to smithereens by rampaging Bolsonaristas desperate to overturn the result of October’s election, which their radical leader lost to his left-wing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
At the senate museum, plaques still read: “Please do not touch the artwork.” But rioters ignored those as they swept into the exhibit room and began wrecking hundreds of years of Brazilian art and political history.
A knife had been taken to portraits of former senate presidents Renan Calheiros and José Sarney. A copy of the Brazilian constitution had been slammed through the top of a display case and was now framed by shards of broken glass.
It's going to be interesting* if the US revokes Bolsonaro's visa and kicks him out. If he entered on a foreign leader's visa, that (I read) gives him only 30 days' grace after he ceased to be a foreign leader.
I guess at least half of Brazil's population is happy to see him outside their country.
* As in "may you live in interesting times"
Brazil
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2023 6:42 am
by p0rtia
What a contrast in response.
My mantra is: The failures (often called "delays") we see in the US in responses to the ongoing assaults on our institutions are in fact examples of what a failed democracy/rule of law looks like. There is no fine line between democracy/full of law and fascism/totalitarianism.
Brazil
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2023 7:49 am
by Slim Cognito
Mr Bolsonaro is currently in Florida.
Because of course he is. Anyone know if he's hanging with the OSG?
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — “No amnesty! No amnesty! No amnesty!”
The chant reverberated off the walls of the jam-packed hall at the University of Sao Paulo’s law college on Monday afternoon. Hours later, it was the rallying cry for thousands of Brazilians who streamed into the streets of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, penned on protest posters and banners.
The words are a demand for retribution against supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed Brazil’s capital Sunday, and those who enabled the rampage.
“These people need to be punished, the people who ordered it need to be punished, those who gave money for it need to be punished,” Bety Amin, a 61-year-old therapist, said on Sao Paulo’s main boulevard. The word “DEMOCRACY” stretched across the back of her shirt. “They don’t represent Brazil. We represent Brazil.
Maybe they've learned from watching what's happening here.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — “No amnesty! No amnesty! No amnesty!”
The chant reverberated off the walls of the jam-packed hall at the University of Sao Paulo’s law college on Monday afternoon. Hours later, it was the rallying cry for thousands of Brazilians who streamed into the streets of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, penned on protest posters and banners.
The words are a demand for retribution against supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed Brazil’s capital Sunday, and those who enabled the rampage.
“These people need to be punished, the people who ordered it need to be punished, those who gave money for it need to be punished,” Bety Amin, a 61-year-old therapist, said on Sao Paulo’s main boulevard. The word “DEMOCRACY” stretched across the back of her shirt. “They don’t represent Brazil. We represent Brazil.
Maybe they've learned from watching what's happening here.
And maybe we should learn something from them... peacefully, but loudly, show the DOJ just how seriously this insurrection here needs to be taken...
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — “No amnesty! No amnesty! No amnesty!”
The chant reverberated off the walls of the jam-packed hall at the University of Sao Paulo’s law college on Monday afternoon. Hours later, it was the rallying cry for thousands of Brazilians who streamed into the streets of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, penned on protest posters and banners.
The words are a demand for retribution against supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed Brazil’s capital Sunday, and those who enabled the rampage.
“These people need to be punished, the people who ordered it need to be punished, those who gave money for it need to be punished,” Bety Amin, a 61-year-old therapist, said on Sao Paulo’s main boulevard. The word “DEMOCRACY” stretched across the back of her shirt. “They don’t represent Brazil. We represent Brazil.
Maybe they've learned from watching what's happening here.
And maybe we should learn something from them... peacefully, but loudly, show the DOJ just how seriously this insurrection here needs to be taken...
SÃO PAULO
American representatives intend to meet this week to discuss a request for the deportation of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), who has been in Florida since the end of 2022.
Democrat Raúl Grijalva told Folha that a good part of the party's bench supports the idea of removing the right-wing leader from the country so that he can be investigated and eventually tried for his role in the attacks against democracy in Brazil.
Brazil
Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2023 4:18 pm
by Dave from down under
Brazil
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2023 2:12 am
by Dave from down under
Unlike in failed states
Brazil is holding those high up in the attempted coup accountable..
A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has ordered the arrest of the capital's most recent public security chief after supporters of right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro led a rampage through government buildings.
Key points:
In security chief Anderson Torres's arrest warrant, a judge wrote "ignorance or incompetence" cannot be excused
Protesters had called for a military coup to return Jair Bolsonaro to power
More than 1,000 people were detained following the riots
Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the arrest of Anderson Torres, who was Mr Bolsonaro's justice minister before taking over this month as the public security chief for Brasilia.
Thousands of protesters vandalised the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential offices on Sunday local time.
Mr Torres, who was removed from office the day of the riots, was not in the city when they occurred, having flown to Florida earlier this month.
Mr de Moraes also requested the arrest of Fabio Augusto Vieira, the head of Brasilia's military police, one of a number of officials responsible for protecting the key Brasilia government buildings.
Security has been stepped up in Brazil’s capital amid concerns that hardcore supporters of the former president Jair Bolsonaro were planning to mobilise again, three days after thousands of extremists launched what the government has called a botched coup attempt.
Reports in the Brazilian media said far-right activists had summoned “a mega nationwide protest to retake power” on Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday night, members of the national public security force in black SUVs could be seen taking up position along the esplanade leading to Brazil’s congress, supreme court and presidential palace – the three buildings stormed and ransacked during Sunday’s turmoil in Brasília.
The official in charge of the capital’s security by Lula after Sunday’s turmoil, Ricardo Cappelli, promised citizens that “under no hypothesis” would such “unacceptable events” be repeated if Bolsonaro backers returned to the streets on Wednesday afternoon.
Peaceful protests were part of democracy, Cappelli told reporters. “But the right to protest cannot be confused with attacks on democratic institutions. The right to demonstrate cannot be confused with terrorist behaviour.”
As the capital braced for possible further outbreaks of unrest, federal police said they had arrested one of the alleged organisers of the 8 January invasions in a city 32 miles from Brasília.
WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month tourist visa to remain in the United States, his lawyer said on Monday, despite calls for any U.S. visas held by Bolsonaro to be revoked following violent protests in Brasilia.
The United States received his application on Friday, his lawyer, Felipe Alexandre, said, adding that Bolsonaro will remain in the United States while his application is pending.
"He would like to take some time off, clear his head, and enjoy being a tourist in the United States for a few months before deciding what his next step will be," Alexandre said in an email response to Reuters.
Brazil
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:22 pm
by neonzx
Of course he came here-- to Floriduh. We are a haven for despotes who have been run out of office.
Steer clear of this state my fellow Americans.
Brazil
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:30 pm
by raison de arizona
What happened to "stay in Mexico"? Isn't that how they want it to work now?
Brazil
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2023 2:09 pm
by Ben-Prime
raison de arizona wrote: ↑Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:30 pm
What happened to "stay in Mexico"? Isn't that how they want it to work now?
I mean, it's not like he claimed asylum, so let's not be too hasty.
Brazil
Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2023 12:29 pm
by RTH10260
Bolsonaro greeted by small group of supporters on return to Brazil for first time since riots
By Julia Vargas Jones, Jonny Hallam, Mia Alberti, Kathleen Magramo and Jack Guy, CNN
Updated 5:32 PM EDT, Thu March 30, 2023
CNN — Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro returned to the country on Thursday for the first time since his election defeat that culminated in thousands of his supporters rioting in protest at the result.
The far-right politician flew back to Brasilia from Florida, where he stayed for three months in self-imposed exile after he failed to win reelection in last year’s presidential vote. Bolsonaro has never formally conceded defeat and filed a petition contesting the result, but it was rejected by the country’s electoral court.
Military police were on high alert in and around the airport, setting up checkpoints on the main road as about 50 Bolsonaro supporters gathered to welcome him. Authorities had earlier asked supporters to stay away from the airport.
The small group of supporters at the airport’s international arrival hall all wore yellow and green Brazilian soccer jerseys, some draped in flags.
One man on a motorcycle carrying a large Brazilian flag was turned away by police at the checkpoint, a CNN team on the ground reported, in line with the tight security plan announced by authorities Wednesday.
Bolsonaro then traveled to the headquarters of his center-right Liberal Party in Brasilia, where a small group of supporters were waiting outside to greet him.
‘A crime of hatred’: disgust over Brazilian mobile phone slavery game Game in which users were able to buy and sell enslaved people, removed from Google Play store on Wednesday, elicits horror
Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro
Thu 25 May 2023 10.30 BST
Brazilians have reacted with horror to the news that a mobile phone game in which players were able to buy and sell enslaved people was until recently available to download on Google Play.
Dubbed the “Slavery Simulator” (Simulador de Escravidão), the disturbing game also allowed players to inflict different forms of torture on black characters.
The game, which had no age classification, had reportedly been available since 20 April this year and had been downloaded more than one thousand times. Users reviewed the game positively, with one describing it as “excellent to pass the time but lacking more torture options”.
The game was removed from the Google Play store on Wednesday but remained available to those who had already downloaded it, the newspaper Folha de S Paulo reported.
The existence of of a game making light of slavery was met with outrage and disgust by Brazilians, who denounced it as racist and called on the developer Magnus Games and Google to be held to account.
“Blatant racism!! […] The image illustrating the game has a white man surrounded by black men. It is absurdly violent. Google and the developer must answer for this crime of hatred and racism,” tweeted Renata Souza, a black activist and politician from Rio de Janeiro.
“Racism is not entertainment, it’s a crime!” denounced Quilombo Periférico, a collective mandate of black city councillors in São Paulo.
Racism is an enduring problem in Brazil, which is still coming to terms with the legacy of slavery. The country imported the highest number of enslaved Africans in the Americas – an estimated 4 million – and was also the last in the region to abolish slavery, in 1888.
“At any time your black child could come across a game in which they are reduced to enslavement, and if your child is white, they will be taught through recreational racism to become an enslaver in real life,” said Bruno Cândido, a black lawyer who teaches anti-discriminatory law.
Brazil’s ministry for racial equality said it had contacted the developer and Google to work with them on measures to curb racist content online. Those behind the product will be held legally responsible, the ministry said.
Tech companies in Brazil, including Google, have come under fire recently over their failure to moderate content inciting racism and other types of violence. Brazil’s congress is considering legislation which would put the onus on social media companies and tech platforms to identify and remove criminal and dangerous content.
Disgusting. I live in a neighborhood that gets referenced as Little Brazil, because we have that many. I can walk up to most anyone and compare my skin color -- white boy neon. Yeah, lots of white boy Brazilians and all colors in between. I make/made sure they knew it did not matter to me.
Brazil is somewhat like the USA as a melting pot. The fuck fuckers need to get over their racist shit.
Brazil
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:42 pm
by Volkonski
Brazil Police Accuse Bolsonaro and Allies of Attempted Coup
Former President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil oversaw a broad conspiracy to hold on to power regardless of the results of the 2022 election, including personally editing a proposed order to arrest a Supreme Court justice and call new elections after he lost, according to new accusations by Brazilian federal police unveiled on Thursday.
Mr. Bolsonaro and dozens of top aides, ministers and military leaders coordinated to undermine the Brazilian public’s faith in the election and set the stage for a potential coup, the federal police said.
Their efforts included spreading disinformation about voter fraud, drafting legal arguments for new elections, recruiting military personnel to support a coup, surveilling judges and encouraging and guiding protesters who eventually raided government buildings, police said.
The explosive allegations were made in a 134-page court order that authorized a sweeping federal police operation on Thursday that targeted Mr. Bolsonaro and about two dozen of his political allies. The operation involved search warrants and the arrests of four people, including two Army officers and two of Mr. Bolsonaro’s former top aides.
Mr. Bolsonaro was ordered to hand over his passport, to remain in the country, and to have no contact with any other people under investigation.
Brazil
Posted: Mon May 20, 2024 12:43 am
by RTH10260
Brazil counts cost of worst-ever floods with little hope of waters receding soon Death toll in southern state of Rio Grande do Sul increasing daily as authorities plan four ‘tent cities’ for 77,000 displaced people
Tiago Rogero in Rio de Janeiro
Sun 19 May 2024 12.30 CEST
Three weeks after one of Brazil’s worst-ever floods hit its southernmost state, killing 155 people and forcing 540,000 from their homes, experts have warned that water levels will take at least another two weeks to drop.
The death toll across Rio Grande do Sul is still increasing daily, and more than 77,000 displaced people remain in public shelters, prompting the state government to announce plans to build four temporary “tent cities” to accommodate them.
On Friday, the state’s governor, Eduardo Leite, said the costs to rebuild will be “much higher” than the 19bn reais (£2.9bn) he initially estimated.
Several cities are still underwater, including the state’s capital, Porto Alegre, where 46 of the 96 neighbourhoods were flooded. Even residents of non-flooded areas have had to endure days without electricity and potable water.
Of the seven main rivers in the state, five are still above the maximum water level, and experts say there is little hope the waters will recede anytime soon.
I guess I posted a prior news item in the Weather thread
Brazil
Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2024 6:32 pm
by raison de arizona
Brazil police indict ex-President Bolsonaro for money laundering, criminal association, sources say
Brazil's Federal Police have indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro for money laundering and criminal association in connection with undeclared diamonds the far-right leader received from Saudi Arabia during his time in office, according to a source with knowledge of the accusations.
A second source confirmed the indictment, although not for which specific crimes. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has yet to receive the police report with the indictment. Once it does, the country’s prosecutor-general, Paulo Gonet, will analyze the document and decide whether to file charges and force Bolsonaro to stand trial.
The indictment dramatically raises the stakes in a series of investigations into the divisive ex-leader applauded by his opponents but denounced as political persecution by his supporters.
I live in a neighborhood that gets referenced as Little Brazil, because we have that many. I can walk up to most anyone and compare my skin color -- white boy neon. Yeah, lots of white boy Brazilians and all colors in between. I make/made sure they knew it did not matter to me.