(Brasilia) Brazilian President Lula continued on Wednesday the purge within the military apparatus in the service of the executive while attacking again Jair Bolsonaro, whom he considers responsible for the riots of January 8 in Brasilia.
Thirteen soldiers in charge of security have been dismissed, the Official Journal announced on Wednesday.
This news comes the day after the announcement of the dismissal of 40 soldiers assigned to the presidential residence of Alvorada, located in the capital, where the seats of the presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court were ransacked by supporters of the ex-head of the far-right state.
“I don’t know if the former president (Bolsonaro) ordered” the riots, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday during a ceremony with unions in the Planalto palace. “What I do know is that he is responsible for it because he spent four years inciting people to hatred.”
On the day of the attack, the former metalworker and trade unionist said that Jair Bolsonaro, whose name he did not mention, however, had “provoked” and “encouraged” the riots through “speeches” when he was in charge of Brazil (2019-22).
The ex-president, who had left Brazil for the United States two days before the inauguration of his leftist successor, denied any involvement, while “deploring” these events which he described as “incredible” . He is under investigation.
The soldiers dismissed on Wednesday were part of the Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI), a government body responsible for assisting the head of state in his national security and defense policy.
Appearance of a former minister
The announcements come a week after Lula, 77, expressed his distrust of some law enforcement officers charged with his security.
Last week, he announced a “thorough” examination of palace staff, saying he was convinced that protesters who invaded the presidential palace had received help from within.
“How could I have someone at my office door who could shoot me?” asked Lula.
More than 4,000 supporters of the former president, who reject his electoral defeat to Lula at the end of October, wreaked havoc on January 8 in Brasilia, invading and ransacking the three centers of power.
Infrastructure, priceless works of art and furniture forming part of the national heritage were destroyed by the rioters, who left behind graffiti calling for a military coup.
More than 2,000 people were arrested after this attempted insurrection, 1,382 suspected rioters were still in detention on Wednesday, while the investigation continues to try to find the organizers and its financiers.
The prosecutor’s office initiated formal proceedings against 39 of them for armed criminal association, damage to property, violence against the democratic state and incitement to a coup.
Attorney General Augusto Aras announced in a local TV interview that another 200 people would be charged over the next two weeks.
Anderson Torres, a former justice minister under Jair Bolsonaro, who was in charge of security in Brasilia but was abroad at the time, was arrested on suspicion of collusion on his return to his country.
On Wednesday, he appeared before investigators for a first deposition, but remained silent, according to the G1 news portal. He also denies any involvement in the attempted insurrection.
Lula also indicated that he would receive German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on January 30 and that he would meet Joe Biden in February in the United States.
“Democracy is the only possibility for us to build a strong nation. That’s why I’m going to talk to Biden to see how he handles” the far right, the left-leaning president wrote on Twitter.
In an interview with Globo News, he also said he would speak with Mr. Scholz “about what is happening in Germany, because the extreme right is an international movement”.
“In Brazil, we won the elections, we beat Bolsonaro. What we need now is to defeat this fascist narrative in Brazil. For this, we will have to ask the democratic forces to demonstrate, regardless of the political party […] to defend democracy,” he said.