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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — “No amnesty! No amnesty! No amnesty!”
The chant reverberated disconnected the walls of the jam-packed hallway astatine the University of Sao Paulo’s instrumentality assemblage connected Monday afternoon. Within hours, it was the rallying outcry for thousands of Brazilians who streamed into the streets of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, penned connected protestation posters and banners.
The words are a request for retribution against the supporters of erstwhile President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed Brazil’s superior Sunday, and those who enabled the rampage.
“These radical request to beryllium punished, the radical who ordered it request to beryllium punished, those who gave wealth for it request to beryllium punished,” Bety Amin, a 61-year-old therapist, said connected Sao Paulo’s main boulevard. The connection “DEMOCRACY” stretched crossed the backmost of her shirt. “They don’t correspond Brazil. We correspond Brazil.”
Protesters’ propulsion for accountability evokes memories of an amnesty law that for decades has protected subject members accused of maltreatment and execution during the country’s 1964-85 dictatorship. A 2014 information committee study sparked statement implicit however Brazil has grappled with the regime’s legacy.
Declining to mete retired punishment “can debar tensions astatine the moment, but perpetuates instability,” Luis Felipe Miguel, a prof of governmental subject astatine the University of Brasilia, wrote successful a file entitled “No Amnesty” published Monday evening. “That is the acquisition we should person learned from the extremity of the subject dictatorship, erstwhile Brazil opted not to punish the regime’s killers and torturers.”
The aforesaid day, Brazilian constabulary rounded up astir 1,500 rioters. Some were caught successful the enactment of trashing Brazil’s Congress, the Supreme Court and the statesmanlike palace. Most were detained the pursuing greeting astatine an encampment successful Brasilia. Many were held successful a gymnasium passim the day, and video shared connected pro-Bolsonaro societal media channels showed immoderate complaining astir mediocre attraction successful the crowded space.
Almost 600 who were elderly, sick, stateless oregon mothers with their children were released Tuesday aft being questioned and having their phones inspected, the Federal Police said successful a statement. Its property bureau antecedently told The Associated Press that the unit plans to indict astatine slightest 1,000 people. As of Tuesday afternoon, 527 radical had been transfered to either a detention halfway oregon prison.
The medication of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva says jailing the rioters is lone the start.
Justice curate Flávio Dino vowed to prosecute those who acted down the scenes to summon supporters connected societal media and concern their transport connected charges involving organized crime, staging a coup, and convulsive abolition of the antiauthoritarian regularisation of law. Authorities besides are investigating allegations that section information unit allowed the demolition to proceed unabated.
“We cannot and volition not compromise successful fulfilling our ineligible duties,” Dino said. “This fulfillment is indispensable truthful specified events bash not repetition themselves.”
Lula signed a decree, present approved by some houses of Congress, ordering the national authorities to presume power of information successful the capital.
Far-right elements person refused to judge Bolsonaro’s electoral defeat. Since his Oct. 30 loss, they person camped extracurricular subject barracks successful Brasilia, pleading for involution to let Bolsonaro to stay successful powerfulness and oust Lula. When nary coup materialized, they roseate up themselves.
Decked retired successful the greenish and yellowish of the nationalist flag, they broke windows, toppled furnishings and hurled computers and printers to the ground. They punched holes successful a monolithic Emiliano Di Cavalcanti coating astatine the statesmanlike palace and destroyed different works of art. They overturned the U-shaped array wherever Supreme Court justices convene, ripped a doorway disconnected 1 justice’s bureau and vandalized a statue extracurricular the court. Hours passed earlier constabulary expelled the mob.
“It’s unacceptable what happened yesterday. It’s terrorism,” Marcelo Menezes, a 59-year-old constabulary serviceman from northeastern Pernambuco state, said astatine a protestation successful Sao Paulo. “I’m present successful defence of democracy, I’m present successful defence of the people.”
Cries of “No amnesty!” were besides heard during Lula’s Jan. 1 inaugural address, successful effect to the president detailing the neglect of the outgoing Bolsonaro administration.
Bolsonaro, a erstwhile service captain, has waxed nostalgic for the dictatorship era, praised a notorious torturer arsenic a leader and said the authorities should person gone further successful executing communists. His authorities besides commemorated the anniversary of Brazil’s 1964 coup.
Political analysts had repeatedly warned that Bolsonaro was laying the groundwork for an insurrection successful the mold of that which unfolded successful the U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021. For months, helium stoked content among hardcore supporters that the nation’s physics voting strategy was prone to fraud — though helium ne'er presented immoderate grounds and independent experts disagreed.
Results from the election, the closest since Brazil’s instrumentality to democracy, were rapidly recognized by politicians crossed the spectrum, including immoderate Bolsonaro allies, arsenic good arsenic dozens of different governments. The outgoing president amazed astir everyone by promptly fading from view, neither conceding decision nor emphatically crying fraud. He and his enactment submitted a petition to nullify millions of votes, which was swiftly dismissed by the electoral authority.
None of that dissuaded his die-hard backers from their condemnation that Bolsonaro should inactive beryllium successful power.
In the contiguous aftermath of the riot, Lula said that the alleged “fascist fanatics” and their fiscal backers indispensable beryllium held responsible. He besides accused Bolsonaro of encouraging the uprising.
Bolsonaro denied the president’s accusation Sunday. Writing connected Twitter, helium said peaceful protestation is portion of democracy, but vandalism and penetration of nationalist buildings transverse the line.
Authorities are besides investigating the relation of the national district’s constabulary successful either failing to halt protesters’ beforehand oregon lasting speech to fto them tally amok. Prosecutors successful the superior said section information forces were negligent astatine the precise least. A ultimate tribunal justness temporarily suspended the determination governor, who oversees the force, for what helium termed “willful omission” and issued warrants for the preventative arrests of the erstwhile heads of the information secretariat and subject police, arsenic good arsenic searches of their residences.
Another justness blamed authorities crossed Brazil for not swiftly cracking down connected “homegrown neofascism.”
The upheaval yet prompted municipal and authorities governments to disperse the pro-Bolsonaro encampments extracurricular the subject barracks. Their tents and tarps were taken down, and residents were sent packing.
Meanwhile, pro-democracy protesters privation to guarantee their connection — “No amnesty!” — volition beryllium heeded by some the instrumentality enforcement authorities and immoderate far-right elements who mightiness situation defy ideology again.
“After what happened yesterday, we request to spell to the street,” said Marcos Gama, a retiree protesting Monday nighttime successful Sao Paulo. “We request to react.”
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AP videojournalist Mello reported from Sao Paulo. AP writer Carla Bridi contributed from Salvador.
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