“We are still here”, says Lula, two years since January 8 coup attempt : Peoples Dispatch

The destruction caused by pro-coup Bolsonaro supporters at the headquarters of the Three Powers in Brasília, occurred two years ago this Wednesday January 8. To recall the gravity of the events and reinforce the importance of democracy, the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, held a ceremony at the Planalto Palace together with various authorities.

“We are still here,” said the president, referring to the film by Walter Salles, based on the book of the same name by Marcelo Rubens Paiva. And he continued. “We are here to say that we are alive and that democracy is alive, contrary to what was planned by a coup attempt on January 8, 2023. We are here, women and men, from different backgrounds, beliefs, parties and ideologies, united by a common cause. We are here to say loud and clear: dictatorship never again, democracy forever,” said Lula.

Earlier, off the cuff, the president called the people behind the coup attempt “a bunch of idiots” and referred to a plot by those close to Bolsonaro back in 2022, to assassinate him, then-vice president-elect Geraldo Alckmin, and the then-president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Minister Alexandre de Moraes, using poison or explosives.

“I escaped an attempt along with ‘Xandão’ and Alckmin,” he declared, joking about the nickname given to the Supreme Court minister. “I wonder what would have happened to this country if their coup attempt had been successful? They were thinking of killing the president of the Electoral Court, the vice president of the Republic and me, and we managed to escape,” said Lula.

In addition to the government ministers and First Lady Janja Silva, the heads of the Armed Forces, Army Commander General Tomás Paiva; Air Force Commander Brigadier Marcelo Damasceno; and Navy Commander Admiral Marcos Olsen were also present. Senator and Vice President of the Federal Senate, Veneziano Vital do Rêgo participated on behalf of Congress, and the Vice President of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Minister Edson Fachin, represented the Court.

Ministers Carmen Lúcia, President of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and Herman Benjamin, who presides over the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) were also present, as well as Alexandre de Moraes and the Dean of the STF, Gilmar Mendes. The governors of Rio Grande do Norte, Fátima Bezerra, Ceará, Elmano de Freitas, and Bahia, Jerônimo Rodrigues, also attended the event.

Edson Fachin read a letter from the president of the Supreme Court, Luís Roberto Barroso, who is traveling abroad. “Remembering this date is also an effort to turn the page, but without tearing it out of history. Institutional maturity demands accountability for deviations of this nature. At the same time, however, we are here to reiterate our democratic values, our belief in pluralism and the feeling of fraternity,” the minister read the words of Barroso, who defended punishment for the crimes of January 8.

“Democracy is the regime of tolerance, of difference, pluralism, and dissent, but it is not a right guaranteed by the Constitution to undermine the conditions of existence of democracy itself. Violence is outside this pact and must be sanctioned, in accordance with our legitimate Constitution,” wrote Barroso.

Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco, who is also out of the country, released a statement about the two year anniversary of what he considered “criminal attacks against the buildings of the Three Powers and our democracy” and reaffirmed the importance of Wednesday’s events. “I congratulate the federal government and all institutions involved in the ceremonies that reinforce vigilance in defense of the regime that I consider to be the most fair and equitable in popular and social representation,” he wrote.

Eunice Paiva Award for the Defense of Democracy

During the ceremony held on Wednesday, President Lula signed the decree creating the Eunice Paiva Award for the Defense of Democracy, an initiative of the Democracy Observatory of the Attorney General’s Office (AGU). On an annual basis, the award will honor individuals who have contributed, through their professional, intellectual, social or political activities, to the preservation, restoration or consolidation of democracy in Brazil. Likewise, the AGU emphasizes that the award honors the career of Eunice Paiva. The lawyer, defender of human rights, and widow of former federal deputy Rubens Paiva, who was killed by the military dictatorship.

The story of Eunice Paiva is portrayed in the film Ainda estou aqui, directed by Walter Salles, starring Fernanda Torres.

The decree signed by Lula this Wednesday establishes that the AGU must publish a normative act, still in the first quarter of 2024, detailing the implementation of the award, such as the selection criteria that will be used.

Pro-democracy movements join the symbolic ceremonies

After the ceremony inside the Planalto Palace, President Lula and the authorities present went down the ramp and met with pro-democracy protesters who had gathered in Praça dos Três Poderes. The demonstration was called by popular movements and political parties that are part of the Povos Sem Medo and Brasil Popular fronts.

Ceres Hadich, from the national leadership of the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) highlighted the symbolism of Wednesday’s demonstrations after two years of the greatest attacks on Brazilian institutions and people.

“We are present, we are united, and we will defend democracy in our country today and always, as an important step towards defending a popular project for our country. It is a determination of political action by the government itself and the people not to accept attacks on our democracy and attacks on what has been built so hard over the years by the Brazilian people,” said Hadich.

At various points during the event, slogans were chanted against the amnesty for the crimes committed on January 8, 2023, and which are currently being processed in the National Congress. “We came here to reaffirm our commitment to democracy, embrace democracy, and say no to amnesty. We defend the need to respect due process and the presumption of innocence, but we must punish all those who have attacked democracy and destroyed the heritage of Brazilians,” declared Anderson Amaro, from the Small Farmers Movement (MPA).

Federal deputy Tarcísio Motta stated that the party’s bench remains firm in its opposition to any initiative that seeks to grant amnesty for the acts of January 8th and that it will demand a clear position on the issue from the next president of the House. “We are going to hold this debate, including during the debates for the election of the Speaker of the House, to be able to extract from Hugo Motta [favorite candidate for Speaker of the House] a commitment not to move forward with these projects. Amnesty is unacceptable,” said the parliamentarian. “The Brazilian justice system must hold people accountable, respecting everyone’s broad right to defense, but these people need to be held accountable. Amnesty is not acceptable for an attempted coup in the midst of democracy. They need to be held accountable so that it is never forgotten and never happens again,” said the PSOL member.

The attacks of January 8, 2023 in Praça dos Três Poderes led to the arrest of at least 1,430 people. According to information from the STF, 310 people were convicted, accused of involvement in the coup acts, 229 of whom carried out the acts and 81 of whom incited them. The sentences range from 15 to 17 years in prison, for crimes of armed criminal association, damage to property, qualified damage, deterioration of listed heritage sites, violent abolition of the Democratic State of Law and attempted coup d’état. Another 500 people signed a non-prosecution agreement and their cases were closed, according to a survey by the Attorney General’s Office.

Restored works

The event this Wednesday also marked the end of the restoration operation, with the return of 21 works of art and historical items to the collection of the Planalto Palace that were vandalized in the incidents of January 8, 2023. Among them, the 17th century pendulum clock, which was given as a gift by the French Crown to the Portuguese Crown during the reign of Dom João VI. The item was restored in Switzerland, according to the government, at no cost to the Brazilian State. The painting Mulatas, by the modernist painter Di Cavalcanti, which had suffered several cuts, was also put back on display to the public.

“We are recovering elements, symbols, assets that speak about what Brazil is, that speak about who we are. These are pieces by artists who have managed to express our culture and tradition. When we return these assets to the population, we are saying: ‘we take care of what belongs to everyone’,” declared the president of the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan), Leandro Grass.

See the list of works restored and returned to the collection of the Palácio do Planalto this Wednesday (8):

» Table clock, by Balthazar Martinot and André Boulle

» Italian amphora in glazed ceramic

» Sculpture The Flautist, by Bruno Giorgi

» Sculpture Apocalyptic Venus Fragmenting, by Marta Minujín

» Painting with the painting Mulatas, by Emiliano Di Cavalcanti

» Painting with the painting of the portrait of Duque de Caxias, by Oswaldo Teixeira

» Painting representing branches and shadows, by Frans Krajcberg

» Painting with the painting Pink Colonial Facade with Towel

» Painting with the painting Casarios, by Dario Mecatti

» Painting with the painting Cena de Café, by Clóvis Graciano

» Painting with the painting Paisagem, by Armando Viana