On Monday (9), one day after the violent acts that occurred in Brasília (DF), demonstrations in defense of democracy took place throughout Brazil. The request for accountability for those involved in the invasion and depredation of buildings belonging to the three powers of the Republic was one of the main issues raised by the protesters. In Campinas (SP), the event took place in the city center, with Largo do Rosário as its starting point and was organized by various class entities, parties and civil society organizations.
“Our act is in defense of democracy and Brazilian public institutions. It is an act that repudiates all the terrorist acts of yesterday and values Brazilian democracy. The main purpose today was to bring together the forces that value the Brazilian democratic process and show that society is paying attention”, summarized Arthur Herculano, one of the organizers.
“No coup” and “no amnesty” were phrases chanted during the protest. Amnesty, which can be granted by the National Congress, refers to a pardon that annuls convictions and their consequences. Protesters ask that amnesty not be granted either to the detained participants or to former president Jair Bolsonaro, currently being investigated on suspicion of committing various crimes, such as malfeasance, interference in the Federal Police and irregular use of public funds.
Present at the event, the executive director of Human Rights at Unicamp, Silvia Santiago, reinforced the University's position in defense of democracy. The professor regrets that the new government is having its efforts diverted to dealing with the violence fueled by extremists and points out that the normalization of the country's democratic institutions in its three spheres is expected.
“Today there was a meeting at Planalto between the spheres of Congress, the Judiciary and the federal government, which is very important. Now [it is necessary] to call on States and other spheres of government to normalize operations within their territorial scope”, says Santiago, also pointing out the need to vacate places where there are people “contrary to democracy and who do not recognize the results of the polls”. .
Serious moment in Brazilian history
Following the acts of violence carried out by the extreme right, around 1.500 people were detained by the Federal Police in Brasília. The governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha, was removed from his position by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) for 90 days and there was federal intervention in the area of public security in the DF due to suspicions of collaboration between authorities in the Brazilian capital and the coup plotters. On Monday night, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with the 27 governors of the federative units and with representatives from Congress and the STF, demonstrating that the three powers are united to preserve democratic institutions.
Public school teacher and master's student at the Faculty of Education (FE) at Unicamp, Mariana Vicente also went to the protest and assessed that the act is fundamental given the serious events that occurred on January 9th. “After a lot of mobilization, we managed to beat the fascists at the polls, but not fascism. What happened on Sunday was proof of that. We saw many buses arriving in Brasília and the PM [Military Police] itself supporting, showing the way for the Bolsonarists to do what they did. This is a very drastic moment in our recent history.”
Entities representing the Unicamp academic community also joined the demonstrations and took a stance regarding the crimes. Member of the board of directors of the Unicamp Workers' Union (STU), Gabriela Barros points out that Sunday's events express a repulsion towards democratic norms, which is not possible to accept.
“The Bolsonarist movement, unhappy with the results of the elections, carried out anti-democratic acts, vandalizing public symbols, national symbols and works of art. The STU quickly positioned itself to strengthen this act today in defense of democracy and to respect the democratic results of the polls. May this not happen again, hurting the Democratic Rule of Law,” he said.
Director of the Unicamp Teachers' Association (Adunicamp), professor Maria José de Mesquita indicates that “it was very important to take to the streets spontaneously to demonstrate that this country is a democracy and that there can be no amnesty for coup plotters”.
For member of Unicamp's Central Student Directory (DCE) Luiz Natividade, Monday's demonstration meant a quick show of strength. "[This] was a response to make it clear that we will not admit this here or anywhere else in the country. And more than that, to demonstrate that we will not accept impunity for those responsible for these atrocities.”
