SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian authorities gathered in capital Brasilia on Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of an alleged coup attempt by supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was joined by members of his Cabinet, military leaders, four allied governors and four Supreme Court justices — including Alexandre de Moraes, who presides over investigations into the coup attempt — for a ceremony at the presidential palace.
The building was one of those trashed by Bolsonaro supporters in 2023 in a bid to trigger a military intervention that would oust the leftist leader from office.
“Today is the day to say loud and clear: We’re still here,” Lula said at the ceremony, in an apparent reference to the recent blockbuster film — titled “I’m Still Here” —that addresses the trauma of Brazil’s two-decade dictatorship. “We’re here to say that we are alive and that democracy is alive, contrary to what the January 8, 2023 coup plotters had planned.”
On Jan. 8, 2023, thousands of pro-Bolsonaro rioters bypassed security barricades around the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court, and climbed onto roofs, smashed windows, urinated on precious art and damaged historic Brazilian memorabilia. They invaded government buildings and called for a military intervention to remove Lula from office.
Artworks that were destroyed have been restored, in partnership with Swiss authorities, and are being reintroduced to the public, Brazil’s presidency said. Lula had invited the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, and the lower house speaker, Arthur Lira, but neither participated in the ceremony.
Brazil’s Supreme Court is scheduled to host discussions with staffers who witnessed the court’s invasion and others who took part in reconstruction efforts. A remembrance website is being set up and an exhibition of art produced using wreckage from the melee will be opened.
The anniversary is taking place amid several legal cases targeting Bolsonaro, who narrowly lost his 2022 reelection bid to Lula, then questioned the legitimacy of the results and declined to concede.
Federal Police have formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 others, including high-ranking military officers, of attempting a coup. The accusation is sealed, but the authorities had been investigating whether he incited the Jan. 8 uprising.
The former leader is an outspoken admirer of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and the riot in Brasilia offered an echo of the Capitol insurrection in Washington in January 2021.
Legal experts believe Bolsonaro could be charged and stand trial in the second of half of 2025 at the Supreme Court for allegedly falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination status. Analysts also say there’s a reasonable chance he stands trial before 2026 over allegedly embezzling jewels gifted by Saudi Arabian authorities.
Brazil’s electoral court has already barred Bolsonaro from running for office until 2030, after a panel ruled that he abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.
His supporters have focused most of their anger at the Supreme Court, particularly Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is presiding over several investigations targeting them. He publicly warned Brazilians last year that any celebration of Jan. 8 would constitute a crime.
According to a Supreme Court report released Tuesday, 898 people have so far been held criminally responsible for the Jan. 8 uprising, with 371 convicted and the remainder signing leniency agreements. The report notes 485 additional investigations are ongoing.
“No one has been or will be unjustly imprisoned. All will pay for the crimes they committed,” Lula said in his Wednesday speech, adding that the defendants will have their rights to defense and the presumption of innocence guaranteed.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
