Brazil's president is convinced that someone facilitated the Bolsonaristas' entry into the institutions

Lula accuses police and military of allowing assault on the three branches of government

photo_camera PHOTO/FILE - Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday that members of the police and armed forces were complicit with the radical pro-Bolsonaro supporters who stormed the presidential, congressional and Supreme Court buildings on Sunday. "I want to see the videos recorded inside the Supreme Court, inside the (Planalto presidential) Palace. There were many people conniving. There were many conniving members of the police, many conniving members of the armed forces inside," the progressive leader said at a breakfast with journalists.  

The president said he has not yet spoken to his collaborators about his suspicions because he is waiting for the situation to calm down a little, but he is convinced that the doors were opened to the protagonists of Sunday's anti-democratic acts. "I am convinced that the door of the Planalto Palace was opened for these people to enter because there is no broken door. In other words, someone facilitated their entry here," added the leader of the leftist Workers' Party (PT).  

Planalto's security depends on both the Presidential Guard, an army battalion, and officers of the Brasilia Militarised Police, some of whom appear in videos fraternising with the assailants. According to his allies, watching the attacks on the seats of power on television from Sao Paulo, Lula complained about the inaction of the armed forces and their inability to foresee that the situation would reach this point.  

"The image I have is of armed forces that know that their role is defined in the constitution. The armed forces are not the moderating power they think they are. Their role is defined in the Constitution and that is what I want them to do well," he said.  

Thousands of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who like their leader do not recognise Lula's victory in October's presidential election, stormed the headquarters of the three branches of government to push for a coup against the progressive leader.  

The violent and unprecedented attack ended with the arrest of nearly 1,800 people, a third of whom were released on humanitarian grounds, although they will remain linked to the process. The president said he had already begun a process of personnel selection to remove the pro-Bolsonaro supporters working in the presidency. "The truth is that the Palace was full of pro-Bolsonaro supporters, of military personnel, and we are seeing if we can correct that to put in career civil servants, preferably civilians who were here and were transferred," he said.  

On the criticism of his defence minister, José Múcio, for not having taken measures to prevent the attacks that had apparently been foreseen, Lula said he trusts his collaborator and will keep him in his post. "If I have to remove every minister the moment he makes a mistake, it will be the biggest labour turnover in the history of Brazil. We all make mistakes," he said.

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