‘There was no intelligence’, says president Lula about the protection against coup acts in Brasília

Priscilla Peixoto – from Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – “Actually, we made a mistake, I would say, elementary: my intelligence did not exist”. The statement is from president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) about the coup acts that occurred on January 8, in Brasilia. In an interview with GloboNews on Wednesday, 18, the president made an assessment about the attacks against Congress, the Planalto Palace, and the Supreme Court invaded by vandals supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

“We have intelligence from the GSI, from Abin, from the Army, from the Navy, from the Air Force, that is, the truth is that none of this intelligence served to warn the president of the Republic that this could have happened. If I had known on Friday that eight thousand people were going to come here, I wouldn’t have left Brasília,” said Mr. Lula.

At the time of the attacks, Mr. Lula said he was in Araraquara (SP) and that, had he known of the risk of invasion, he would not have traveled to fulfill an agenda about the damage caused by the rains in the region. The chief of the executive highlighted that he had not been warned by any intelligence service.

“When I left Brasilia on Friday, I had information that everything was calm. And then what happened on Sunday happened, with a call in the social networks. No intelligence service served to warn me that this could happen. If I had known, I wouldn’t have traveled,” he lamented.

A State Coup

The president believes that the terrorist acts were planned in advance and said he had the impression that the episode was, in fact, the “beginning of a coup”. “I got the impression that it was the beginning of a coup. I got the impression that they abided by what Bolsonaro talked about for a long time,” stressed the president who added:

“I think his decision to stay quiet, after he lost the election, not to pass presidential sash, to go away to Miami (…) gave the impression that he [Bolsonaro] knew everything that was happening.”

Lula also reported on suspicion that the doors of the palaces were opened to facilitate the terrorist acts and criticized the Military Police of the Federal District, which he classified as conniving.

“(…) I want to see all the tapes recorded inside the Supreme Court, inside the Palace. There were many colluding agents. There were many people from the Military Police who connived. Many people from the Armed Forces, here on the inside, connived. I am convinced that the door of the Planalto Palace was opened for these people to enter, because there is no broken door. That is, someone facilitated their entry,” said the president, emphasizing that all the people involved, who were arrested, will be heard and will have the right to a defense.

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