Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has fired 40 military personnel assigned to the presidential residence after promising a “thorough” screening of staff following the Jan. 8 attempted insurrection in Brasilia.
The measure, published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday, affects soldiers assigned to the Alvorada Palace, the official residence of the head of state, which is about four kilometers from the seats of the presidency, congress and the supreme court, the one A week later, Bolsonarists looted Lula’s inauguration.
Last Thursday he announced a “thorough” investigation into the staff assigned to the presidency and said he was convinced that the rioters who broke into the presidential palace in Planalto had received help from within. Several thousand supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who rejects his electoral defeat by Lula at the end of October, wreaked havoc in the capital on January 8 and invaded the three centers of power.
A palace full of “Bolsonarists”
Infrastructure, priceless works of art and furniture that are part of the national heritage were destroyed by the rioters, who left graffiti calling for a military coup. “I am convinced that the gate of the Planalto Palace was opened so that people could get in because no door was broken,” said the Left boss. “It means someone facilitated their entry here,” Lula insisted.
“How could I have someone at my office door who could shoot me?” ‘ Lula wondered, believing that ‘the palace was full of Bolsonarists’.
Brazilian authorities tightened security around power centers in Brasilia on Monday. The number of MPs stationed near the Planalto Presidential Palace, Congress and the Supreme Court was increased from 248 to 500. More than 2,000 people were arrested after the attempted uprising, which the government described as an “act of terrorism”.
Nearly 1,200 were arrested, and prosecutors charged 39 of them with armed criminal organization, criminal damage, violence against the democratic state and inciting a coup d’état.