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Bolsonaro leads protests against Congress and the Supreme Court

Monday, June 1st 2020 - 08:52 UTC
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Bolsonaro greeted fans from a helicopter flying over the area where the demonstration was held Bolsonaro greeted fans from a helicopter flying over the area where the demonstration was held

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro joined supporters protesting against Congress and the Supreme Court in Brasilia on Sunday, stoking concerns of an institutional crisis in the nation that now has the world's second-highest number of coronavirus cases after the US.

In a live broadcast on social media, Bolsonaro greeted fans from a helicopter flying over the area where the demonstration was held. He then landed and joined the protest wearing no mask, despite a local government decree mandating them as a way to prevent Covid-19 spread.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, also mounted a federal police horse in front of the protesters, who were carrying banners attacking the Supreme Court and even calling for military action against it and the Congress.

In other parts of Brazil, protesters against and for Bolsonaro clashed with each other and the police. In Sao Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro, anti-fascist and pro-democracy demonstrations were called by football fan groups, which clashed with Bolsonaro supporters.

In Sao Paulo, the police lobbed tear gas bombs, and at least five protesters were arrested, local media reported.

The latest protests and Bolsonaro's appearance to greet his supporters could fuel the institutional crisis that's been brewing amid a fake news probe mandated by the Supreme Court. Last week, the federal police carried out search-and-seizure orders against people seen as Bolsonaro's allies.

The President and the Supreme Court have been at odds on a number of issues, particularly after the court supported restrictive measures imposed by governors to slow the spread of the coronavirus, against the president's push to reopen the economy.

The crisis worsened amid investigations allowed by the Court. Besides the probe into social media posts alleged to promote fake news and personal attacks, the court also authorized an investigation into accusations made by former Justice Minister Sergio Moro on the President's alleged attempts to interfere with police investigations.

It's all playing out as Brazil's coronavirus crisis is spiraling.

 

Categories: Politics, Brazil.

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  • Terence Hill

    “Supreme Court Justice Celso de Mello sent a message to fellow court justices comparing Brazil's current political moment to that of Germany under Adolf Hitler.
    ”Military intervention, as intended by Bolsonaro supporters and other autocratic leaders who despise freedom and hate democracy, is nothing but the establishment, in Brazil, of a despicable and abject military dictatorship,“ he said.
    ”With due regard, the 'snake's egg,' similar to what happened in the Weimar Republic (1919-1933), seems to be about to hatch in Brazil,“ he said. ”It is necessary to resist the destruction of the democratic order, to avoid what happened in the Weimar Republic Hitler, after being elected by popular vote and later appointed by President Paul von Hindenburg as chancellor of Germany, did not hesitate to break and nullify the progressive, Weimar's democratic and innovative Constitution, imposing a totalitarian system of power on the country, “Celso de Mello said.
    Last week, Bolsonaro shared the video of an interview in which lawyer Ives Gandra Martins argues that the Armed Forces can act as a moderating power, in a timely manner, when there is an impasse between the other branches of the government.
    According to him, the hypothesis is possible due to article 142 of the Constitution, which deals with the military's institutional role in the country.”
    https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2020/06/supreme-court-justice-compares-brazil-to-hitlers-germany-and-says-bolsonaro-supporters-want-abject-dictatorship.shtml?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsen

    Jun 08th, 2020 - 12:50 am 0
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