Pro-Bolsonaro marches and rumors of a coup on Independence Day

Brazil celebrates its Independence Day on Tuesday under high tension, because of the demonstrations convened by the president of the extreme right Jair Bolsonaro, who hopes to mobilize massively his bases, but also by his opponents.

As part of major security operations to protect public buildings and prevent episodes of violence, Brasilia and São Paulo are preparing to receive massive acts articulated by followers more radical of the president.

In Brasilia, he will be protected by 5,000 agents, hundreds of demonstrators have gathered since Monday evening in the central region.

Nocturnal incidents

After breaking the police blockade, many of them entered with trucks and other vehicles through the avenue that leads to Congress, the Federal Supreme Court, and other government buildings.

“We have just invaded! The police couldn’t contain the city! And tomorrow we will invade the STFOne of the president’s supporters shouted in a video released by local media, in what appears to be a Latin American version of the outrageous takeover of the Capitol by Trump supporters last year.

Although they have said the purpose of the marches is to defend “freedom”, many protesters who support Bolsonaro and who have organized themselves through social media are planning slogans in favor of attacks on democratic institutions.

Some even ask a “military intervention” commanded by the 66-year-old president, former army captain nostalgic for the dictatorship military (1964-1985).

What can happen

The direction the mobilizations will take It’s uncertain and he monopolized public debate in Brazil, even with warnings to avoid something similar to last January’s invasion of the United States Capitol.

More than 150 intellectuals and politicians from 26 countries, including former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and American philosopher Noam Chomsky, signed an open letter on Monday denouncing an “imminent threat to Brazilian democracy”.

The day will begin with the official act of raising the flag At 9 a.m. in the Alvorada Palace, residence of the Head of State in Brasilia.

Bolsonaro has said in recent days that he expects massive mobilizations send an “ultimatum” to the judges of the Supreme Court which opened several investigations against him and his entourage, among others for spreading false information.

The ex-parachutist, whose popularity is at its lowest level Largely because of his handling of the pandemic and the economic crisis, he will participate in the morning events in Brasilia and the afternoon in São Paulo, where he hopes to collect “millions” on the iconic Avenida Paulista.

Three kilometers away, in Vale do Anhangabau, the main opposition demonstration of the megalopolis is planned under the slogan “Out with Bolsonaro.”

To Geraldo Monteiro, political scientist at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro you play “everything for everything” after having tightened the rope to the maximum with its recurring attacks on the electoral system, the Supreme Court and Congress.

If successful, Bolsonaro will offer a “show of force that it can give him more leeway “and a new impetus for the presidential elections of 2022, in which according to the polls he would be largely defeated by the former president of the left Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who did not still confirmed his candidacy.

But in the event of a fiasco, the president will be “even more cornered”, risking being abandoned by his political allies and the business world.

Among the fears of security specialists is the possible presence among the protesters of armed police, a class that largely supports the president.

According to a survey published on Sunday by the newspaper O Globo, 30% of the police intended to take to the streets on Tuesday, while the regulation prevents them from getting involved in political demonstrations, even on his days off.

Bolsonaro openly criticized judges and governors last week who announced measures to prevent police from attending the marches.

“It is a crime (to ban the police demonstration), worthy of a dictatorship. They want to reduce the movement. But a plainclothes policeman on leave can contribute to the security of the event,” he said. declared.

AFP