Camp Bolsonaro supporters surrounded, Governor Brasilia suspended

Reuters

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 13:26

In Brazil, police have surrounded a camp of Bolsonaro supporters. The group has gathered in front of the Brazilian army headquarters in the capital Brasilia. Hundreds of agents have been deployed for the action.

According to the O Globo newspaper, those present were given an hour to leave. The actions are attended by, among others, the Minister of Defence. The newspaper reports that many demonstrators have since left.

Some supporters of the former president have repeatedly asked the army to intervene: they believe that Lula’s election victory is unfair, for which there is no evidence.

Yesterday, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil’s Supreme Court, parliament and presidential palace in Brasilia. The police managed to evacuate the buildings after three hours and used tear gas, among other things.

There is uncertainty about the number of arrests: according to the minister of justice, 200 demonstrators have been arrested, but the governor of Brasilia reports that 400 people have been arrested.

Governor inactive

The Supreme Court has suspended the governor for 90 days. Earlier, the governor himself fired the police chief in the capital. The court finds that the governor has failed. The federal government has taken over the security tasks from the regional authorities. The buildings that were stormed yesterday are now heavily secured.

Supporters of President Lula wonder how local police were unprepared and seemingly surprised by yesterday’s protests. Social media has been talking about demonstrations for days. Lula has promised that all those responsible will be punished.

The stormed buildings are all three in the Square of the Three Powers:

NOS

Bolsonaro himself resides in the United States. He went to Florida at the end of December, shortly before his successor Lula was sworn in as president. Bolsonaro has never congratulated his successor or acknowledged the election results. He wrote on Twitter that “a line” had been crossed with the storming of government buildings.

Questions about visa Bolsonaro

Several politicians from the US Democratic Party believe that Bolsonaro should be expelled from the US. “The United States should not be a haven for this authoritarian man who fueled domestic terrorism in Brazil. He should be sent back to Brazil,” Congressman Joacquin Castro told CNN.

President Biden previously called the storming “outrageous”.

Most likely, Bolsonaro is on a so-called A1 visa in the US, intended for diplomats. Bolsonaro was still head of state when he traveled to the US, so there may be no expiration period on his visa. The US State Department would not comment further on this to international news agencies.

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