Brazil’s capital was unveiled in 1960 as a modern utopia, a symbol for optimism and trusting in the future.
Today, its luster is gone. The Three Powers Plaza, surrounded by Congress, Supreme Court and the presidential palace, is stained from a day full of rioting.
The police have now closed all roads to traffic, making it a dead quiet moment.
As a crime exhibit, a destroyed police car has been taped.
These great institutions of state’s windows have been broken and dark spots of earth have appeared on the floor. Here, handmade tiles have been dug up to be thrown at security forces and buildings that are at the heart of government.
We were led into the presidential palace by cleaners who rushed to remove any glass fragments. Meanwhile, workmen tried to repair or replace damaged interiors.
On Sunday, supporters of the former president Jair Bolsonaro rioted here. They have been moved on, their camps and tents outside the army base were destroyed. Many were also arrested.
However, Brazil and its supporters, Lula de Silva, remain on the edge.
They believe that this was a coordinated effort to achieve a coup de etat, and they believe it’s not over yet.
In a show of support, they marched to the streets outside Brasilia’s governor’s office.
They claim that the governor was complicit, or at the very least negligent, in failing to stop Sunday’s mob violence.
They claimed they came to support democracy and protest the actions of former president Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters.
Mateus Menezes brought his wife and two daughters along to the demo. He told me that they are very worried about their children’s futures.
“We’ve never seen anything similar to this. We’ve seen movies and read magazines about it, but we never imagined we would see it in person.”
It appears that the weekend’s events were not a random act of anger.
Investigators believe that the attempted coup was organized and took place over several weeks or months. It may have even been supported by the former President Jair Bolsonaro who is currently in Florida.
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Security services failed to prevent the pro-Bolsonaro supporters from rushing through the gates of state institutions on Sunday. They were either overwhelmed or unable to stop them.
They are also being scrutinized for their inaction.
The investigation into the events here will likely focus on the similar events that occurred in the United States two-years ago on Capitol Hill.
It is well-documented that there are many similarities between Donald Trump’s supporters and Jair Bolsonaro. Their tactics and demands are well documented.
These populist leaders’ supporters agree on many things, including never accepting they lost an election.
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