Senate toughens access to the building after coup attacks – 02/03/2023 – Power

In reaction to the January 8 break-in, the Senate tightened access rules and decided that only senators and federal deputies will be able to enter the building without passing through metal detectors.

Before, the waiver also applied to civil servants, employees, outsourced workers and accredited journalists. Now, with the exception of parliamentarians, everyone must go through the X-ray gates.

The Senate was already discussing changes in access to the building since the discovery that two accused of trying to explode a bomb in Brasília had participated, days before, in a public hearing promoted by Senator Eduardo Girão (Podemos-CE).

After the discovery of the plan, on December 24, the House decided to restrict visitor access and expand the use of X-rays – with the exception of senators. The measure, however, was temporary, and was only valid until the presidential inauguration, on January 1st.

The attack on the headquarters of the three Powers —including Congress—, however, led the House to make the measure permanent. Since the episode, the Senate Police has prepared a report of suggestions for correcting vulnerable points.

Privately, police say there is a fear of isolated terrorist actions. They also say that charging only the badge was a flawed measure, since someone could enter the building with the identification of an employee who had stolen or lost the object.

The act was signed by the former first secretary of the House, Senator Irajá (PSD-TO), but also passed by the general directorate of the Senate and by the other members of the board of directors, including the president. The change was formalized on January 31, one day before the new parliamentarians took office.