Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro will host this Wednesday parades and civic-military demonstrations in support of the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, on the occasion of the bicentennial of the independence of Brazil, events that put the two cities in a state of security alert.
The National Public Security Force was called to act in Brasilia: “The use of the National Force, in an episodic and planned manner, in actions to preserve public order and the safety of people and property, in the defense of property and the União, inside the Palace of Justice”, reads a text published in Diário da União.
Around 280,000 participants are expected in the official parade in Brasilia, which must be inspected, with various items such as weapons, flagpoles, glass, aerosols and laser pointers, among others, being prohibited.
Special snipers and anti-bomb teams will be on site and security forces will monitor the roads leading to the country’s capital. The Cavalry, the Battalion of Police with Dogs and the Battalion of Special Police Operations (BOPE) will also be present.
The Esplanada dos Ministérios, in Brasilia, which concentrates the headquarters of the three powers in Brazil, where the official parade of the Brazilian Army is scheduled, was closed to traffic on Monday night to block the passage of trucks carrying Bolsonaro supporters They wanted to park near the places of power.
On Monday, a Federal Supreme Court judge temporarily limited the scope of President Bolsonaro’s decrees facilitating access to firearms, due to the “risk of political violence” during the election campaign.
A year ago, pro-Bolsonaro protesters, including truckers, broke through a police cordon and threatened to storm the Supreme Court.
This year, the main cities of the country reinforced the security structures for the parades and demonstrations for Independence Day, which since Jair Bolsonaro came to power has become a day of demonstration of political force by the right. conservative.
The Brazilian president asked his supporters to take to the streets “for the last time” on September 7. Scattered throughout the city of Brasilia, various banners read: “It’s now or never.”
Analysts quoted by the local press said they believe that Jair Bolsonaro’s tone will be softer, even to mitigate his rejection rate, which, less than a month after his electoral “clash” with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is located at 52%. The first round of the Brazilian elections takes place on October 2.
Still, the day could be used for a show of political force, especially the parade in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro.
In the capital, the parade is scheduled for 09:00 local time and must be attended by the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the president of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, Augusto Santos Silva, and the heads of state of Cape Verde. , José Maria Neves, and from Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, as well as representatives from other Portuguese-speaking countries.
The executive secretary of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), Zacarias da Costa, also participates in the celebrations.
In Rio de Janeiro, where Bolsonaro will travel in the afternoon after participating in the Brasilia parade, 1,855 military police will be deployed to guarantee security, according to local officials.
Most will be along Copacabana beach, where Navy and Air Force demonstrations are planned, as well as a show of support for the head of state.
Lula da Silva’s campaign, leader in all the presidential polls, decided to leave Bolsonaro on the streets to avoid possible confrontations.
The celebrations are also marked in Portugal with a series of acts and initiatives, such as the lighting of Cristo Rei with the colors of Brazil, from 8:30 p.m. today until early Thursday morning.
“At the end of this month, an exhibition of documentation alluding to Portugal-Brazil independence and relations, organized by the Diplomatic Institute”, reads a note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which recalls that “when throughout the year Portugal has supported a wide range of initiatives, to remember the unique process that led to the independence of Brazil and celebrate the construction of relations between the two countries.”
Among the various initiatives that mark the 200th anniversary of Brazil’s independence is a civil-military ceremony aboard the “Brazil” School Ship (NE Brasil), which is moored in the port of Lisbon until Thursday, on a journey that includes docking in 14 ports as part of the 36th Marine Guard Training Tour (XXXVI VIGM) and whose voyage began on July 16.
The start of the cultural program commemorating the bicentennial of the independence of Brazil takes place in Coimbra, with the presentation of the book “Camões e Lusíadas”, by Antônio Ricardo Accioly Campos, president of the Joaquim Nabuco Foundation, in the Senate Hall of the University local .
In addition to the inauguration of the exhibition “The University of Coimbra and the independence of Brazil”, which brings together the documentary and bibliographic records of this centenary relationship (the heritage of the General Library and the UC Archive), including a vast collection of press and other documents from the 19th century Coimbra also hosts a tribute concert to Antônio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994), promoted in collaboration with Cistermúsica – Alcobaça Music Festival.
In Lisbon, the day is marked with a concert by the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra, at the Jardim da Torre de Belém, and with a live broadcast of the reopening of the Ipiranga Museum in São Paulo, after nine years closed, at the Rising Auditorium of the Book Fair.
In Porto, until November 15, a musical theater show, a film show, an artists’ residency and an exhibition mark the association of the Coliseu Porto Ageas with the celebrations of the bicentennial of Brazil’s independence.
Source: TSF
