International
Brasilia riots: What we know
January 15 | By AFP |
Thousands of opponents of leftist new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stormed the seats of power in Brazil’s capital on January 8, fired up by anti-“communist” rhetoric and allegations of election fraud.
Here’s what we know.
Rioters arrested
In all, the Federal Police detained 1,843 people after the riots in Brasilia.
Most of them were taken from an encampment outside the army headquarters in the capital, where they had been protesting for two months, clamoring for the military to prevent Lula’s inauguration, which went ahead on January 1.
According to the latest update by the Federal Police, 1,159 remained under arrest Wednesday after 684 — many of them old or ill, parents of young children and homeless people — were released to await trial in freedom.
Police from the district of Brasilia arrested another 209 on the day of the uprising.
Charges against the rioters include terrorism, criminal association, involvement in an attack against the democratic state, participation in an attempted coup d’etat and incitement to crime.
Countering claims of mistreatment, the police said hundreds of detainees received three meals and a snack every day, and had access to medical care.
More than 430 were seen by doctors and 33 taken to health facilities.
Justice Minister Flavio Dino said on Friday that court appearances have started, without providing details.
Top dogs
A Supreme Court judge on Friday gave the green light for far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, beaten narrowly by Lula at the ballot box in October, to be included in an investigation into the instigators of the riots.
The Federal Police on Saturday arrested Brasilia security chief Anderson Torres, a former Bolsonaro justice minister, for alleged “collusion” with the rioters.
Also in custody is Fabio Augusto, who led the military police in Brasilia and, like Torres, was fired after the uprising.
The Supreme Court has also ordered an inquiry into the conduct of Brasilia governor Ibaneis Rocha and his interim public security secretary Fernando de Sousa Oliveira.
Rocha was relieved of his duties for 90 days.
Lula and Dino have said the violence could not have happened without collusion from members of the security forces. An investigation is under way.
Financiers
The attorney general’s office has identified 52 individuals and seven companies suspected of having helped pay for the uprising.
According to national broadcaster TV Globo, the suspects included leaders in the pro-Bolsonaro agro-business sector.
They are thought to have paid for the food and transport of rioters who arrived in Brasilia from several regions of the country on about 100 passenger buses.
Investigations are ongoing to track down other masterminds and financiers.
Damage
The extent of the damage has yet to be determined in monetary terms, but many of the items trashed when rioters broke into the presidency, Congress and Supreme Court are irreplaceable parts of Brazil’s cultural heritage.
The buildings, all designed by famed architect Oscar Niemeyer, had their windows smashed, furniture broken, floors and walls burnt and scratched, and facades scarred by anti-Lula graffiti.
The capital is inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
In an initial report of damage, Brazil’s Iphan heritage institute documented a seemingly never-ending trail of destruction.
Most of the building damage was reversible, it said, but individual items may not be salvageable.
Among the most iconic items damaged were the modernist canvas “As Mulatas” painted by Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, and the sculpture “A Justica” by Alfredo Ceschiatti.
Numberous canvases, busts, statues, ceramic vases and pieces of antique furniture were defaced.
UNESCO has offered its help in restoring damaged artworks.
Driving force
Bolsonaro had done his best on the campaign trail to raise the specter of “communism” under leftist Lula, who had already served two previous presidential terms from 2003 to 2010.
He also hammered repeatedly on Lula’s graft conviction, which has been overturned.
Long before the election, Bolsonaro sought to cast doubt, without showing any evidence, on the credibility of Brazil’s internationally-hailed electoral system.
When he did lose, millions were left fearful of Lula and the left, and distrustful of his victory.
“All we want is freedom,” one arrested rioter told AFP.
Experts say disinformation, much of it spread by Bolsonaro himself, was in large part responsible for the radicalization of the anti-Lula faction in Brazil.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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