An act in support of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party. PT, in Portuguese) was interrupted by gunfire this Sunday (23) in Macaíba, state of Rio Grande do Norte, in the northeast of Brazil. The event was attended by the re-elected governor Fátima Bezerra (PT), who was prevented from making her speech.
In a statement, Lula's campaign coordination said that the governor and all those who accompanied her in the political activity are safe. Macaíba is in the metropolitan region of Natal, capital of the state.
“No one from the rally was hit by shots fired by a man riding a motorcycle near the event”, it said.
Also according to the note, the governor's security team acted to protect the participants of the activity and the Civil and Military Police are taking steps to investigate the facts.
On Twitter, Fátima Bezerra posted images that showed the strong adhesion to the act in support of the former president, who is disputing the Planalto Palace.
Tweet: “Hope is born in Macaíba! What a beautiful thing! Exciting! The people of Macaíba have already chosen: it's 13, it's Lula president! Love will defeat hate. #BrazilofHope #LulaPresident #ImWithLula
Fatima Bezerra was reelected with 58.3% of the votes in the first round. In Rio Grande do Norte, Lula won approximately 63% of the votes, while Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party) reached 31%.
President of Brazilian Labor Party, allied party of Bolsonarism, attacks the Federal Police
Also on Sunday, Roberto Jefferson (Brazilian Labor Party. PTB, in Portuguese) threw a grenade and shot at Federal Police agents who went to his house to serve an arrest warrant against the former congressman at the request of the Federal Supreme Court (STF, in Portuguese). Two police officers were injured by shrapnel from the grenade and were taken to the emergency room. According to the Federal Police, after receiving medical attention, both were released and are well.
Jefferson refused to surrender, and the negotiation lasted more than eight hours, which was attended by the defeated candidate for the presidency of the Republic for the PTB, Priest Kelmon.
In addition to the arrest ordered by the Supreme Court, Roberto Jefferson also had a new arrest in the act determined by minister Alexandre de Moraes, on suspicion of attempted murder of the two federal police officers at the time of the execution of the arrest order on Sunday.
The Federal Police operation occurred a day after Jefferson cursed minister Carmen Lúcia of the STF. He compared her to “whores”, “asshole” and “sluts” in a video posted on the social networks of his daughter Cristiane Brasil (PTB). The video referred to the minister's decision in the trial of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) that forced the removal of fake news from Jovem Pan radio station, TV, and internet platforms.
With Carmen Lúcia's vote, the Court reached a majority for the decision that requires the broadcaster to give a right of reply to former President Lula da Silva for false or distorted statements made by commentators on the channel.
Former congressman Roberto Jefferson has been under house arrest since January of this year, when he left the closed regime for health reasons. In August of last year, he had his arrest decreed after spreading new threats to the country's Judiciary institutions.
Jefferson-Bolsonaro alliance started in 2020
Since 2020, Jefferson acted to restructure the PTB, where he is the leader, preventing regional alliances of the legend with possible opponents of the president. Jefferson's goal was to attract Bolsonaro to run for his party. Bolsonaro ended up choosing the Liberal Party, but maintained contact with the PTB, which supports his reelection.
Jefferson was one of the most radical supporters of the current president's “anti-system” discourse. The PTB president led several attacks on the Brazilian Judiciary system, at a time when Bolsonaro was in an explicit arm wrestling match with the ministers of the STF, who sought to curb the mass distribution of fake news and Bolsonaro's attacks on democratic institutions.
The PTB president became the target of an inquiry for advocating, among other things, the closing of the STF and the removal of members of the Court, including encouraging violence against the magistrates. Jefferson even said that there would be no elections in 2022 if the printed ballot was not implemented, following Bolsonaro's lines.
One day after Roberto Jefferson's arrest in August 2021, Bolsonaro announced that he would call for the impeachment of STF ministers Alexandre de Moraes and Luís Roberto Barroso. “For a long time, the ministers Alexandre de Moraes and Luís Roberto Barroso, of the Supreme Court, have been extrapolating the constitutional limits,” Bolsonaro published at the time, in defense of Jefferson.
In the most recent case, however, the president sought to disassociate himself from the figure of the PTB leader. On Sunday night, he said that Jefferson's action was criminal and referred to the ally as "bandit".
Edited by: Arturo Hartmann e Flávia Chacon
