After arresting more than 1,500 people who attempted to carry out a coup, Brazil begins to reactivate the country’s institutions. After the events that occurred on January 8 in Brasilia, national and international public opinion addresses several key questions: what mistakes were made? Who or who are responsible? How could it have been prevented?
What protocols failed during the assault in Brasilia? Despite the fact that this attack resulted from a succession of negligence, there are two of them that stand out above the rest: the soft intervention of the Military Police and the omission of the truth by the authorities of the Federal District caused thousands of protesters to roam freely through Praça dos Três Poderes, where they should never have entered.
- Facilitated access. Agents of the Brasilia Military Police let the demonstrators cross the barriers that allowed them to enter the esplanade where the official buildings are located. Once inside, the agents had no reaction capacity. According to the Integrated Actions Protocol, the security forces had to plan and execute actions with the aim of maintaining and preserving public order during the event.
- Police action. The incentive that ended Lula Da Silva’s patience was the reaction of the agents. The president, who at the time of the riots was visiting areas affected by the rains in Araraquara, in Sao Paulo, was surprised when they showed him the images showing agents with a friendly attitude towards the assailants. At that moment he decided to intervene and give an immediate response.
And the work of the Federal Government? The Government of the Federal District did not know how to act quickly despite having received warnings from the intelligence services. In addition, he did not communicate the situation to the national forces either.
- Before the coup attempt occurred, the Brazilian Intelligence Agency sent a report to the Government of the Federal Districtwarning that the main group of the assault planned to loot public property and promote violent acts at the headquarters of the Three Powers. But Ibaneis Rocha, the governor of Brasilia and a supporter of Bolsonaro, decided not to increase security.
- The interim president of the Senate assured that he asked the members of the Federal District if they needed reinforcements in the face of the chaos that was increasing at times. According to him, the answer was that it was under control; in reality, only 140 agents of the National Force were summoned for the demonstration.
Who are the main culprits who should have prevented this attack? So far, Ibaneis Rocha, the Governor of Brasilia, and the Federal District Security Secretary, Anderson Torres, have been removed from their duties. Lula himself has singled out Rocha for being the culprit of having allowed the altercations.
- Ibaneis Rocha: The supreme court has removed the leader proposed by Bolsonaro for the next 90 days after a decision by magistrate Alexandre Morlaes. Rocha has already apologized on his Twitter account.
- Anderson Torres: After being named head of Security for the Federal District of Brasilia, he traveled to Florida. The members of the Federal Police and Supreme Court ministers attribute to Torres the responsibility of the Bolsonaro mobilization. He, however, wanted to defend his performance on Twitter.
- Also in the crosshairs is the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, and the head of the Institutional Security Office (GSI), Marco Edson Gonçalves Dias, who did not know how to react to the violent onslaught of the protesters.
Source: Lasexta
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
