BRASÍLIA — Brazilians marked the country's
independence day Tuesday with rallies for and against embattled President Jair
Bolsonaro, who warned he would not let perceived enemies including the Supreme
Court attack freedom and democracy.
اضافة اعلان
Tens of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters flooded streets with the green,
yellow, and blue of the national flag in Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro,
and other cities, holding huge prayer sessions and chanting slogans in support
of the far-right president.
In many cities, anti-Bolsonaro protesters geared up for rival rallies just
kilometers away, as Brazil looks towards elections in October 2022 that polls
currently place the president on track to lose.
Bolsonaro, whose popularity is at an all-time low, is seeking to fire up his
base in the face of a flagging economy, soaring unemployment, and inflation,
and a series of investigations targeting him and his inner circle.
With hardline supporters urging a military intervention to give Bolsonaro
unfettered power, there are fears the day could turn violent, with echoes of
the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by supporters of former president Donald
Trump — to whom Bolsonaro is often compared.
"This is a day for the Brazilian people, who will tell us which
direction to go," Bolsonaro said outside the presidential residence, where
he kicked off the day's events presiding over a flag-raising ceremony and
military show of strength complete with Air Force flyover, paratroop landing,
and special forces display.
Speaking later to a throng of supporters in the heart of the capital,
Bolsonaro fired his latest warning shot at Brazil's courts, whose judges he
accuses of attacking him — particularly Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de
Moraes, whom the president wants impeached.
"Either the head of that court gets his justice in line, or the court
could suffer consequences that none of us want," Bolsonaro said.
"We can't let one person threaten our democracy. We can't let one
person put our freedom at risk. ... As of today, we're going to start writing a
new history here in Brazil."
The Supreme Court has notably ordered an investigation of the 66-year-old
Bolsonaro, a former army captain, and his inner circle over allegations of
systematically spreading fake news from within the government.
Moraes has ordered Bolsonaro himself investigated in the case, and jailed a
top ally, former congressman Roberto Jefferson.
The president also faces a Senate inquiry into his government's widely
questioned handling of
COVID-19, which has claimed more than 580,000 lives in
Brazil, second only to the United States.
'Taking our
freedom'
Bolsonaro was also due to speak at a rally in economic capital Sao Paulo on
Tuesday, which marks 199 years since Brazil declared independence from
Portugal.
Heavy security was in place in major cities to avoid clashes. If all goes
according to plan, pro- and anti-Bolsonaro protesters will not cross paths.
Late Monday, hundreds of pro-Bolsonaro demonstrators tore down a police
blockade in Brasilia near the square flanked by the presidential palace,
Congress and the Supreme Court.
Bolsonaro said last week that the Supreme Court judges should consider the
rallies an "ultimatum" — the latest in a long list of warnings aimed
at Congress and the courts.
"I'm here to fight for our freedom, to free Brazil from this filthy
band of corrupt politicians on the Supreme Court who want to take away our
freedom," one Bolsonaro supporter, 45-year-old security guard Marcio
Souza, told AFP in Brasilia.
'Dress rehearsal'
Security experts are concerned over the presence of armed military and
police during the demonstrations — two key groups of Bolsonaro backers.
With polls putting him on track to lose badly to leftist ex-leader Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva in next year's elections, Bolsonaro is hoping to use the
rally to energize his supporters.
Political scientist Mauricio Santoro said he feared Bolsonaro would try to
follow the same script as Trump and attempt to delegitimize Brazil's elections.
"This is the first time since the end of Brazil's military dictatorship
(in 1985) that we have a president making speeches against democratic
institutions," he told AFP.
"It looks like a dress rehearsal for what Bolsonaro could do in 2022,
especially if he loses the elections."
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