Still alive in the memory of public servant Henrique Lima are the scenes of the January 8 attacks, when the main buildings of the three Powers were destroyed in Brasília (DF) by Bolsonarist radicals who vandalized furniture, windows, computers, art objects and left marks traumas in the memory of the young Brazilian democracy.
“The images were sad. Everything was very wet, a lot of glass on the floor. It was shocking and very sad. Even more than seeing it on TV, getting here and seeing all that was terrible”, he says, in conversation with the Brazil in fact. Henrique, who has worked in the Federal Senate for 13 years, is one of the many civil servants of the National Congress who joined forces this Wednesday (8) to commemorate the 30 days since the terrorist attacks and reaffirm the defense of democracy.
“I came here today, in the first place, because I think it’s important for us to remember. It’s been a month, it’s an important date for us to remember, not to forget and not allow it to happen. But, secondly, because I think that, not only as a civil servant, but as a citizen, we need to be together at a time like this of strengthening our democracy, when we need to keep claiming that there is no type of amnesty, the those responsible are punished, from the guy who came here and went bankrupt to the one who financed and planned it”, said Lima.
The action, organized by the Union of Servants of the Federal Legislative Power and the Federal Court of Accounts (Sindilegis), also involved the engagement of deputies, senators and partner entities. The entity’s president, Alison Souza, says that the initiative aims to defend the Brazilian State and against the use of violence to obtain political gains.
“We understand that we need to go beyond publishing disclaimers. All this is important, it has to be done too, but we feel the need and we believe it is a civic duty to be here a month later in this hall, where the invasion began, doing what we call ‘the reverse path’. They came from outside and arrived breaking the windows of the Congress and here we are leaving the hall to hang a banner outside in defense of democracy”, said Souza, moments before the group placed a huge banner in front of the building with the phrase “ Act for Democracy”.
“This is not a movement to defend the government, party A or party B. It is a non-partisan event. Our sole objective is to ensure that politics in Brazil is carried out in the best possible way. It is clear that disagreements and disputes are part of politics, but to the exact extent that this serves to give space for contradictions, so that people are free to put on the table what they think, what they feel, the vision they have of the country, but we cannot in any way start using violence as a form of intimidation”, added the president of Sindilegis.
Participants in the act went down the ramp of the National Congress to later spread a banner in front of the building in defense of democracy / Pablo Valadares/Chamber of Deputies
Dean of the Brazilian left in Congress, deputy Luiza Erundina (PSOL-SP) praised the articulation of public servants in organizing the event and stressed the importance of parliamentarians also committing themselves to this type of initiative.
“Those acts were a disrespect to life, to national heritage, to our democracy, therefore, an unspeakable offense in a democratic country that has already had so many lives taken in the struggle for democracy. Democracy is a struggle that takes place every day, every year, always, and we have to give our own lives, if necessary, so that it survives and actually exists in the life of a society, not only from a political point of view, but also social, from the point of view of our civilization. That’s what this moment is about.”
Deputy Erika Kokay (PT-DF) was among the parliamentarians who joined the act. “We will not allow acts like that to be repeated. We are here to say that it is necessary to investigate, punish all the culprits and ensure that there will be no amnesty ”, she told the Brazil in fact.
The secretary general of the Brazilian Bar Association in the Federal District (OAB-DF), Paulo Maurício Braz Siqueira, said that the event is also important to signal the vigilance that must be maintained in order to seek the accountability of the different characters involved in attacks.
“From the first moment we officiated the authorities demanding the accountability of everyone who acted against the Brazilian State. We expect Parliament, the Judiciary, the police to do their job. Whether military or civilian, all those involved must respond, with due process of law, with the right of defense guaranteed, but they must respond.”
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
