Justice rejects demanding apologies for 7/9 under Bolsonaro – 03/20/2023 – Politics

The Federal Court rejected the opening of a public civil action against the Union to determine the holding of a public apology ceremony for the political use in favor of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) of the official Independence Day festivity, last year, on Copacabana beach, south of Rio de Janeiro.

Judge Mauro Lopes, of the 2nd Federal Court, understood that the request does not suit the Union, but only those responsible for distorting the act. The magistrate also argued that a new act would generate new public spending, in addition to being a risk of “ending up awakening political rivalries, with an unpredictable outcome”.

“The pretense of condemning the Union to apologize, in addition to being legally unfeasible, does not represent a logical consequence of the facts narrated in the complaint, both with regard to the overburdening of the Union, already financially harmed due to the same facts, and the possibility of the public ceremony wanted by the MPF to stir up the spirits of political contenders, generating even more harmful consequences for the public entity”, wrote Lopes, in a decision on the 7th.

With the rejection decision, the AGU (Advocacia Geral da União) was not even notified to manifest itself. The Federal Public Ministry will appeal the decision.

In February, the Attorney General’s Office proposed a public civil action in which it asked that the Union, if convicted, be obliged to carry out a “public apology ceremony” with the participation of the Armed Forces as a means of repairing the damage caused.

The request included a statement from the President of the Republic and the commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force on the date of the act.

The Bicentennial of Independence was celebrated in the first weeks of last year’s election campaign. Bolsonaro, at the time a candidate for re-election, called for the events in an attempt to turn the celebrations into a thermometer of popular support for his government.

At the request of the then president, the Armed Forces changed the location of the event from Rio de Janeiro to Copacabana, the neighborhood where Bolsonaro supporters traditionally gather. The September 7 ceremonies in Rio de Janeiro were traditionally celebrated on Presidente Vargas Avenue, in front of the Duque de Caxias Palace, headquarters of the Eastern Military Command, in the center.

An eight-hour event program was prepared, with a cannon fire salute, parachute jumps, military bands and a display of the Smoke Squadron.

Pastor Silas Malafaia organized a sound car that was a few meters from the stage of the official celebrations. The goal was for Bolsonaro to be able to speak in a space with no ties to the military.

Bolsonaro left the official stage, where Nogueira was, when planes from the Esquadrilha da Fumaça were still making exhibitions scheduled for official acts. The political speeches in the sound car began when the Fumaça Squadron aircraft were still flying through the skies of Copacabana.

In Malafaia’s sound car, Bolsonaro attacked his then opponent Lula and repeated threats to the STF (Federal Supreme Court).

In the decision, Lopes claims not to ignore “the relevance of the facts narrated in the initial petition and the plausibility of the allegations alluding to the contamination of the festivities of the Bicentennial of Brazilian Independence by party-political manifestation”.

“The problem is that the requests formulated, in conclusion, by the subscribers of the initial piece would fit, at most, in recommendations to be forwarded to the competent bodies by the MPF itself”, said the magistrate.