Brazil to memorialize January 8 riots

The Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration launched a project to create a Museum of Democracy. A digital repository with an exhibit focused on the January 8 riots is already available.

One year ago, hordes of far-right supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed and ransacked the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court building. The exhibit attributes the insurrection to “far-right radicals” who attacked Brazilian democracy. It contains a collection of news pieces, photos, and short documentaries about the attacks.

The quotes highlighted from news articles explicitly mention that the rioters were supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The exhibit also highlights the moment when Brasília Governor Ibaneis Rocha fired top security official head Anderson Torres, who was on vacation in Florida on that day.

Mr. Torres was later arrested, accused of intentionally facilitating the attacks and neglecting his duty to plan a security response. He was granted conditional release in May 2023. Mr. Ibaneis, for his part, was suspended from office for two months, also under suspicion of facilitating the storming of public buildings.

The Culture Ministry said, “Brazilian democracy was threatened by protesters dissatisfied with the result of the last election,” and that the exhibit’s purpose is to highlight “the resistance against the anti-democratic acts that occurred on January 8, 2023.”

Construction work on the Museum of Democracy in Brasília is to begin in 2025, with a budget of BRL 40 million (USD 8.1 million). The government expects works to conclude in 2027. The construction of the museum had been previously announced in September 2023.

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