The handful of criminal imbeciles who vandalized the buildings of the Three Powers headquarters in Brasilia does not have the support of the immense majority of Brazilian society, which endorses democratic values and respects the results of the polls.
Its cause, a narrow-minded coup-mongering behavior, has no political backing among the legitimately elected forces represented in Parliament. They roar in the name of themselves and, at most, of a former president who quietly fled abroad.
The villains perhaps believe that attacking concrete monuments, emptied on a Sunday, means some sinister conquest. In reality, they only manifest cowardice, stupidity, and herd mentality. The institutions of the Rule of Law, which have been strengthened for four decades, are safe from the stupidity of a few vandals.
The federal district has already been the scene of violent protests, from the riots of 1986 to the days of 2013. Never before, however, have demonstrators reached the inside of the palaces with such ferocity, and for such a vile reason.
They defy democracy, disturb the peace, and deprecate public property for nothing more than having their fetiches rejected by the majority of their fellow citizens.
The march of the idiots will in the near future be just one vexatious paragraph in the country's history. It cannot, however, be minimized now. What the troublemakers in Brasilia did, however pathetic they may appear, was extremely serious.
The leaders of the pack must be identified, investigated, and punished to the fullest extent of the law. Eventual financiers and supporters installed in public offices, ditto, with aggravating factors.
The negligence of the security forces, in particular the government of the Federal District, is inexcusable and deserves rigorous investigation. Governor Ibaneis Rocha (MDB), a Bolsonarist in disguise, exonerated the responsible secretary, Anderson Torres, a former justice and bloodhound of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). That's too little.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) decreed federal intervention in Brasilia's security, which at this point cannot be considered nonsense.
Groups remain camped in front of barracks; it must be assumed that some of their members have access to weapons and no scruples.
The work of demobilizing gangs needs to be carried out intelligently and without hesitation. The government, which has the means to do so, should refrain from political proselytism in this task.
It is mandatory to demonstrate to the population that democratic normality is and will be preserved, despite the growls of angry minorities that imitate the defeat of the American Capitol. The country has more important problems to face.
Translated by Cassy Dias