Lula: January 8 was the start of a coup d’état – 01/18/2023 – Power

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said this Wednesday (18) that the federal government’s intelligence system “did not exist” on the 8th, when the headquarters of the three Powers were invaded and vandalized by supporters of the former president. Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

The Chief Executive said that he saw the acts of vandalism as a “beginning of a coup d’état” and said that members of the Armed Forces who want to do politics must take off their uniform and resign from their position.

“As long as they are serving the Armed Forces, the Advocacy General of the Union, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, these people cannot do politics. They have to fulfill their constitutional function, pure and simple”, he declared in an interview with GloboNews.

Lula also promised to punish everyone who participated in the coup acts, including the military. “Everyone who participated in the coup act will be punished. Everyone. No matter the rank, no matter the force he participates in.”

He was highly critical of the federal government’s intelligence system.

“We have intelligence from the GSI, Abin, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, that is, the truth is that none of this intelligence served to warn the President of the Republic that this could have happened. If I had known on Friday that 8,000 people would come here, I wouldn’t have left Brasilia. I left because everything was quiet.”

The Chief Executive said that he was in Araraquara (SP) at the time of the invasion and that, on the previous Friday, he had information that “everything was quiet”. “Then what happened on Sunday happened, with the announcement on social networks. No amount of intelligence served to warn me that this could happen. If I had known, I would not have traveled,” he said.

He went on to criticize the government’s intelligence and stated that the invasion had been prepared for “a long time”.

“They didn’t have the courage to do anything during the inauguration. In fact, we made a mistake, I would say elementary: my intelligence did not exist. I left here on Friday with the information that there were 150 people in the camp, that everything was calm, that they would not allow more buses to enter, that they would not allow anyone else to join. I traveled to São Paulo in the greatest peace of mind. And what happened happened”, he criticized.

Also this Wednesday, at an event in Planalto with representatives of the trade union centrals, Lula said that Bolsonaro is to blame for the attacks and also stated that the invasion of the headquarters of the Powers was a “coup attempt by prepared people”.

Lula again criticized the former president in the interview. “Impression that Bolsonaro wanted to return to Brazil in the glory of a coup,” she said.

“I even got the impression that people were following the order and guidance that Bolsonaro gave for a long time, for a long time he ordered the invasion of the Supreme Court, discredited the National Congress, for a long time he asked the people to carry weapons, because that was democracy.”

The president also stated that there were conniving people inside the Planalto Palace that facilitated the invasion.

The petista said that he received a suggestion to enact a GLO (Guarantee of Law and Order) and that he refused to adopt the measure.

“When they did GLO in Rio de Janeiro, Pezão, who was governor, became Queen of England. I had just been elected President of the Republic. The important thing is that I was elected President of the Republic of that country. And I was not going to give up to fulfill my duties and exercise power in its fullness”, he said.

The president once again criticized the Military Police of the Federal District and said that there was collusion with the depredations on the Esplanada.

He also once again praised Defense Minister José Múcio and said he will remain in office. “I’ve been telling everyone: Zé Múcio has been my friend for many years. He’s a person I trust, he’s a person with a lot of political ability, that’s why he was chosen. Because he’s a man who, whenever possible, tries to avoid any conflict. And there are people who don’t like that, there are people who want to get out right away in the fight. And it’s not like that, “he said

In the last week, the petista had already shown great distrust in relation to military personnel who work in the government and sent a tough message to the Armed Forces.

“This is the image I have of the Armed Forces. Armed Forces that know that their role is defined in the Constitution. The Armed Forces are not the moderating power as they think they are,” he said, over breakfast with journalists at the Planalto Palace. .

Lula also said he was “convinced” that people inside the palace let coup leaders in on the day of the invasion of the Planalto.

On the 8th, supporters of former President Bolsonaro promoted a large coup act at the Esplanada dos Ministérios. They advanced on the security forces and invaded the National Congress, the Planalto Palace and the Federal Supreme Court, leaving behind a trail of vandalism and destruction.

Lula also said to GloboNews that he disagreed with the idea of ​​establishing a CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) to investigate coup attacks.

He stated that a CPI at this moment could “cause tremendous confusion”.

Still talking about the Armed Forces, the president was asked about their role in the Amazon and what other actions can be used to combat organized crime in the region. Lula then announced that he was going to create the Ministry of Public Security during his term, with a specific force to guard the borders and act on the environmental issue.

“We are going to work during this mandate with the perspective of creating a force, a Ministry of Public Security, you know, with a mission of great responsibility in the care of our borders and our biomes”, he said.

He spoke of discussing “with the Armed Forces the work that needs to be done in a way that is “much more effective than what is being done today”. our forest, a commitment we have is to have zero deforestation in the Amazon by 2030. I will pursue this with fire and iron,” he added.