In a decree issued on Sunday, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva appointed Deputy Justice Minister Ricardo Cappelli as the interventor of Brasília’s public security until the end of the month.
The president placed the capital’s security apparatus under federal intervention following violent riots staged by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The acts were facilitated by the small number of troops deployed by local authorities, unable to prevent an angry mob from approaching the headquarters of the three branches of government.
Lula allies blamed Brasília Governor Ibaneis Rocha and his top security officer, Anderson Torres — who served as Jair Bolsonaro’s justice minister. The governor fired Mr. Torres, and the solicitor general asked for Mr. Torres’s arrest.
With Congress’s approval, Mr. Cappelli will command the Civil and Military Police forces in the Brazilian capital. The interventor answers directly to the president and will not be limited by any local legislation that is in conflict with measures deemed “necessary” to carry out the intervention.
The interventor will also be able to request, if necessary, any financial, technological, structural, and human resources from the Brasília government.
Ricardo Cappelli, 50, is a journalist and holds a postgraduate degree in public administration from the think tank Fundação Getulio Vargas. In previous Workers’ Party governments, he held senior positions at the Sports Ministry and served as press secretary for Justice Minister Flávio Dino during his time as governor of Maranhão.
In April of last year, he wrote an op-ed in which he doubted whether Brazil’s far-right would accept the results of the election, were Lula to win.
“Given the country’s scenario, it seems naïve to believe that [former President Jair] Bolsonaro will hand the presidential sash to Lula in early January and peacefully head off together with his children to [prison],” he wrote. “At this point, winning at the polls is only part of the problem. How many challenge mechanisms are there? They are willing to do anything. Will the election ever end?”
On Monday, he tweeted: “Criminals will continue to be identified and punished. We will not allow the continuity of gatherings that function as incubators for plots against the rule of law.”
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