The president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, dismissed this Sunday by decree the director of all Brazilian public media as a result of the treatment given to the attacks on public buildings in Brasilia on the 8th.
The decision was made on Friday and includes the appointment of journalist Kariane Costa as president of the Brazilian Communication Company (EBC), which supports outlets such as Agência Brasil, TV Brasil, as well as national radio stations.
The measure implies the opening of a transition and reorganization process at the EBC that will last about 30 days, the Brazilian presidency said in a statement.
The Brazilian press points out that the direction of these media outlets was in the hands of officials appointed by the former president, Jair Bolsonaro.
On January 8, supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro invaded and vandalized the headquarters of the Federal Supreme Court, Congress, and the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, forcing the police to intervene to restore order and lifting the conviction of the international community.
Sources cited by the Folha de São Paulo newspaper describe that most of the Brazilian media referred to Bolsonaro’s supporters as “vandals” or “coup plotters”, while the public media kept the term “protesters”.
Another source explained that there were fears of even more radical coverage by the media headed by people close to Bolsonaro and the possible spread of anti-democratic ideas or even technical sabotage to disrupt broadcasts.
The day after the assault on the three powers, the TV Brasil news broadcast statements by Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president, interpreted as provocation by politicians from the ruling Workers’ Party (PT).
The Military Police managed to retake control of the headquarters of the three powers, in an operation that resulted in around 1,500 detainees.
The invasion began after militants from the Brazilian extreme right, supporters of the former president, defeated by Lula da Silva in last October’s elections, called a protest on the Esplanada dos Ministérios, in Brasilia.
Federal Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes dismissed for 90 days the governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha, considering that both the governor and the former Secretary of Security and former Minister of Justice of Bolsonaro Anderson Torres will have acted with negligence and omission.
Source: TSF
