Expected rioting in Brazil fizzles
Few protesters heed call to join
BRASILIA, Brazil — Skittish Brazilian authorities on Wednesday spared no effort to boost security in the face of a social media flyer promoting a “mega-protest to retake power” in two dozen cities. Whether because of preventative measures adopted or not, the supposed uprising was a dud.
Less than 10 protesters showed along Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach; there were more journalists in attendance, plus 29 police vehicles. On Brasilia’s esplanade surrounded by federal government buildings, authorities had designated an area for protest and stationed police and national guard troops. Just one couple showed, dressed in the same Brazil soccer jerseys that thousands of rioters wore four days earlier.
“We were surprised to be the only ones here today,” said Eunice Carvalho, a 58-year-old housewife joined by her husband. “People got scared after the imprisonments, which were excessive.”
Speaking to journalists in Brasilia earlier, the federal appointee who has assumed control of the capital’s security said police were shutting down the main avenue to traffic, limiting pedestrian access with barricades and blocking all access to the square that was the site of Sunday’s mayhem.
“The right to protest freely will always be respected and cannot be confused with terrorism,” said the official, Ricarado Cappelli.
Citing the call to protest, a Supreme Court justice ordered local authorities in cities across Brazil to prevent protesters from blocking roads or occupying public spaces and buildings. Justice Alexandre de Moraes also ordered arrests and fines for people and companies who participate or help with logistics and funding.
The all-hands response — and the subsequent tranquility — underscored just how jumpy authorities remain after supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro rampaged through Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace on Sunday, laying ruin to the government’s three most important buildings. Officials arrested or detained some 1,500 people by the following morning, hundreds of whom were sent to prison.
Though there is no evidence of fraud in the Oct. 30 presidential election, the protesters have claimed the true winner was farright Bolsonaro. He has fired up his base about the vulnerability of electronic voting machines despite independent experts’ assurances they are closely scrutinized. Bolsonaro also has warned his supporters that the election’s leftist victor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, would impose communism.
The call for a fresh uprising Wednesday sparked concern that the crackdown hadn’t dampened the will of radicals. Among those who vow to continue protesting is Daniel Bressan, 35, who traveled some 300 miles from the interior of Parana state to join Sunday’s protest in Brasilia. He was detained by police the next morning, though he denies participating in any of the vandalism.
“A lot of people are going to be afraid to go to the streets and be arrested — I myself fear persecution by the legal system — but I’m not going to stop fighting and I’m not going to get discouraged,” Bressan said by phone from the federal police’s temporary holding center. “I’m ready for everything. Our freedom is worth more than our lives.”