President Lula attended the event to denounce the “coup” against him led by supporters of his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva marked the second anniversary of an attack on government buildings with a ceremony in the square where the violence took place.
On Wednesday, Lula – who underwent surgery to treat a brain hemorrhage last month – appeared at Three Powers Plaza in the capital Brasilia to denounce the January 8, 2023 unrest, which he likened to a coup against his presidency.
He also took the opportunity to express resistance in the face of the attack that saw thousands of protesters break into the presidential palace, the Supreme Court building and Congress.
“Today is the day to say loud and clear: We are still here,” Lula told his supporters.
“We are here to say that we are alive and that democracy is alive, contrary to what the coup plotters had planned on January 8, 2023.”
The Jan. 8 attack came just seven days after Lula, a left-wing leader, was inaugurated for a non-consecutive third term.
At that time, Lula was neither in the presidential palace nor was the Brazilian Congress in session. But the attack caused millions of dollars in damage and dozens of police officers and protesters were injured.
Many of the rioters had tried to launch a military uprising against Lula’s presidency.
Lula’s election was close: He entered a runoff against incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in October 2022 and emerged victorious with one of the narrowest margins in Brazilian history. Just over 2.1 million votes separated the two candidates.
But the far-right Bolsonaro had been spreading false claims long before the election that Brazil’s electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud, and he refused to publicly acknowledge his defeat following the election.
This led to widespread protests, with Bolsonaro supporters blocking highways and attacking police headquarters in Brasilia. In the run-up to the inauguration there were even reports of a bomb threat in the capital.
Bolsonaro left the country for Florida before Lula took power. He has since returned to the country, where he faces numerous trials and investigations.
Some refer to his role in spreading misinformation about the election as well as his connection to the January 8, 2023 attack.
In June 2023, Brazil’s electoral court ruled that Bolsonaro would not be allowed to run for office until 2030 as punishment for using state resources to sow distrust in the electoral system.
And in November 2024, federal police officially accused Bolsonaro and 36 allies of plotting to overturn the 2022 election results. Attorney General Paulo Gonet has yet to decide whether to formally indict the former president.
Other investigations have examined whether Bolsonaro embezzled jewelry from Saudi Arabia during his time in office or spread misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nevertheless, Bolsonaro claimed on social media on Wednesday that US President-elect Donald Trump had invited him to his inauguration in Washington DC on January 20.
“My lawyer, Dr. Paulo Bueno, has already forwarded a request to Minister Alexandre de Moraes so that I can get my passport back so that I can participate in this honorable and important historical event,” Bolsonaro wrote.
His passport was confiscated as part of the ongoing investigation.
