Brazil: Jair Bolsonaro supporter arrested for attempted bombing
Brazilian supporters of incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro refuse his defeat in the last elections and camp in front of an army barracks, with a banner waving "Help from the Armed Forces", on December 26, 2022 in Brasilia.
© Eraldo Peres / AP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
This Sunday, December 25, Brazilian police thwarted an attack by a supporter of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro, who had tried to use explosives to create "
chaos
" and prevent the return of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to power, a week before his inauguration.
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With our correspondent in São Paulo
,
Martin Bernard
George Washington de Souza was arrested this Saturday, December 24 by Brazilian police, after placing an explosive device in a tank truck near Brasilia airport.
The alleged perpetrator of the attack told the police that his action was "
inspired by the speeches of Jair Bolsonaro
", who
refused to recognize
Lula's victory in the presidential election of October 2022. He wanted to trigger "
chaos
and "
the intervention of the army
" in order to "
prevent
the establishment of communism in Brazil
", while the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Lula is to take place on January 1, 2023.
George Washington de Souza also clarified that the plan was designed with other bolsonarists with the idea of placing at least two explosive devices in strategic locations, to achieve the "
declaration of a state of siege in the country
" .
.
►Also read
:
In Brazil, supporters of Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate, two weeks after his defeat
Attempted bomb attack
The author of the foiled attack had driven from the Amazon to Brasilia, with a veritable arsenal of guns and ammunition on board.
Once in the Brazilian capital, he had joined supporters of the far-right former president, Jair Bolsonaro, who have
camped outside an army barracks
for several weeks and are calling for a coup.
The 54-year-old man then obtained explosives and placed them in a tanker truck, full of kerosene, parked in front of the airport.
The truck driver then sounded the alarm, and averted tragedy.
Jair Bolsonaro did not speak following this attempted attack, described on the other hand as “
terrorist
” in the entourage of Lula, and by the president of the Senate, the centrist Rodrigo Pacheco.
Não há espaço no Brasil democrático para atos análogos ao terrorismo, como a tentativa de explosão de um caminhão de combustíveis, em Brasília, felizmente abortada pelas forças de segurança.
— Rodrigo Pacheco (@rodrigopacheco) December 26, 2022
"
The serious events that took place yesterday in Brasilia prove that the camps of the so-called
'patriots'
have become incubators for terrorists
," tweeted Flavio Dino, appointed Minister of Justice in Lula's next government.
(
And with
AFP)
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Brazil
Terrorism
Jair Bolsonaro
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva