By Renan Ramalho
A succession of errors on the part of several security authorities, at least, allowed demonstrators to invade and vandalize, last Sunday (8), the headquarters of the Three Powers, in Brasília, and cause destruction.
Since then, faced with the imminence of repression by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), various bodies, at the federal and also district levels, have mobilized to elucidate the reasons for the failures – whether they were accidental or intentional, whether caused by recklessness, malpractice, negligence or even on purpose.
To understand these factors, the report listed a series of questions not yet fully answered by those responsible for protecting the center of power in the federal capital, adding the explanations given so far.
WHO DEFINED THE NUMBER OF SECURITY PERSONNEL IN THE FEDERAL DISTRICT GOVERNMENT?
One of the clearest reasons, so far, for the ineffectiveness of containment was the low presence of military police on the Esplanada dos Ministérios, to contain the invasion. Barriers were placed to prevent the arrival of demonstrators at Praça dos Três Poderes, but in similar protests in the past, there was a larger battalion of armed men and large vehicles, grouped in the two lanes that give access to the buildings, to confront invaders.
During the weekend, those directly responsible for managing the personnel mobilized for protection were Chief Fernando de Sousa Oliveira, then interim Secretary of Public Security for the Federal District; and Colonel Fábio Augusto Vieira, who was General Commander of the Military Police of the Federal District.
Both were removed from office by Ricardo Capelli, executive secretary of the Ministry of Justice, who was appointed federal intervenor in the area of security. The suspicion of misallocation of personnel also falls on Anderson Torres, who was the titular secretary, but was on vacation in the United States, although he had taken office a few days before.
WHO AUTHORIZED THE THEN DF SECURITY SECRETARY TO TRAVEL TO THE US?
Federal Police delegate Anderson Torres took over the DF Security Secretariat on the 2nd, but soon after took a vacation and traveled to Orlando, in the United States – it is the same city where ex-president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) has been since December of whom he was Minister of Justice. To the UOL portal, Torres said that Sunday was his first day of vacation. “I’m with my family on vacation. First day of vacation. I didn’t find Bolsonaro.”
During the afternoon, when invaders had already vandalized Congress, the Planalto Palace and the Federal Supreme Court, he reported on Twitter that he had determined the action of “all members of the Military Police and the Civil Police”, “to restore order with the utmost urgency”. Shortly afterwards, he was exonerated by Governor Ibaneis Rocha. It is not known whether the vacations were granted by the district government or by the PF itself.
WHAT IS ANDERSON TORRES’ RESPONSIBILITY IN THE CASE?
Ricardo Capelli, who assumed the position of secretary as an intervenor, stated that “there was a structured sabotage operation commanded by former Bolsonarist minister Anderson Torres”. The intervenor reported that, shortly after taking over the secretariat, the delegate exonerated the entire command of the area and left the country. The executive secretary of the portfolio, Milton Rodrigues Neves, and the undersecretary of Intelligence, George do Couto, were dismissed.
With that, the security of the DF was in charge of the interim secretary Fernando de Sousa Oliveira, who was also exonerated after the invasion. This Tuesday (10), Alexandre de Moraes ordered the PF to arrest Anderson Torres and former PM commander Fábio Augusto Vieira. Torres said he will return to Brazil and appear before the courts. And Vieira has already been arrested by the Federal Police.
WHY DID THE DF GOVERNMENT CHANGE THE SECURITY SCHEME ON SUNDAY?
So far, no convincing explanations have been given for the change in the security scheme, on the day of the invasion, which allowed the demonstrators to enter the Esplanada dos Ministérios on foot, accompanied by the Military Police of the DF, who escorted the group to the location.
Initially, the plan was to keep the area isolated with barriers, as it was known that demonstrators would go there and risk invasion by radicals.
“Unfortunately, there was an assessment by the local authorities that it would be possible at the last minute to change this plan. And that plan has been modified. And that caused these people to go down the Esplanade and then there was a lack of control”, said the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino.
WHAT DID THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DO WITH WARNINGS THAT THERE COULD BE VIOLENCE?
The Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, said that he met on Saturday (7), the eve of the invasion, with leaders of the PF and the Federal Highway Police, who informed him that more than 100 buses, with almost 4,000 people, were on their way from Brasília to thicken the camping in front of the Army HQ. No measures to contain the movement have been defined.
On the same day, on the eve of the act on the Esplanada, the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), which had agents infiltrated in the camp, sent alerts to various government agencies informing them of the imminent risk of attacks on public buildings on the Esplanada.
“Calls for violent actions and attempted occupations of public buildings remain, mainly on the Esplanada dos Ministérios,” said the document, revealed by Folha de S. Paulo. Flávio Dino said that he could not have acted before the local security forces. “We did what we could. The federal sphere only acts when the local sphere fails. Each one has their role”, said the minister in an interview with the press.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ARMY TROOPS PROTECTING THE PLANALTO PALACE?
The protection of the Planalto Palace is carried out by the Institutional Security Office (GSI) and there is its own staff of military personnel assigned to the task, from the Presidential Guard Battalion (BGP). None of them informed the contingent mobilized on Sunday.
Known as Batalhão Duque de Caxias, the army group responsible for protecting the palace has about a thousand foot soldiers. Generally, a troop is positioned in the basement of the Planalto Palace. On Sunday, however, part of her was seen walking towards the headquarters of the Presidency after Lula da Silva announced the intervention in the security of the Federal District, at the end of the afternoon.
The Army’s commitment has been questioned in the episode, especially since a video in which a colonel was caught on video trying to prevent the arrest of invaders by the police. Within the government, there is distrust of the GSI, due to the fear that it still harbors many military supporters of Bolsonaro. For this reason, Lula da Silva removed from the body the function of his personal security, that of the vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, and his family members, transferring it to a new structure, called the Extraordinary Secretariat for Immediate Security and commanded by trusted PF delegates. of the president and who already protected him during the campaign.
WHO DEFINED THE NUMBER OF POLICE OFFICERS IN THE NATIONAL SECURITY FORCE?
Comprised of police officers from various states required by the federal government for emergency situations, the National Security Force has 640 men. On Saturday, the eve of the invasion, only 140 were appointed by minister Flávio Dino, to reinforce security at the Esplanada dos Ministérios; the rest were on missions in other states.
On Monday (9), Dino admitted that the number in Brasília was insufficient, due to the change in the security scheme set up by the Federal District government. “Obviously, it was an insufficient performance due to the revision of the DF’s planning. We set up our performance based on a premise. This premise was revised and there were no conditions to mobilize other contingents. This is my constitutional limit,” he said. “If I had known three days before that the planning was different, I would have taken other possible decisions”.
WHY WAS THERE NO REINFORCEMENT OF THE LEGISLATIVE POLICE OF CONGRESS?
The Legislative Police, subordinated to the Presidency of the Senate, reported that all of its personnel were stationed inside Congress. The Chamber Police say they had 100 agents on site.
Acting Senate President, Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB), said that he was sought out, even on Sunday morning, and before the invasion, by members of the Legislative Police, who expressed concern about demonstrators arriving at the Esplanade.
Veneziano said that he got in touch with the secretary of the Civil House of the Federal District, Gustavo Rocha, who would have reassured him. “I received information that we should not worry, as the situation was fully under control.”
WAS THERE CONNIVANCE OF THE POLICE COMMAND OR LACK OF STAFF?
The decisions of Minister Alexandre de Moraes, based on confidential reports from the Federal Police, indicate that there was a willful omission by the Federal District authorities, who would not have mobilized more men in the face of an announced risk of invasion and vandalism.
On Sunday afternoon, while protesters walked down the Esplanada towards the Três Poderes square, guided and escorted by military police, the then interim Secretary of Security, PF delegate Fernando Oliveira, sent an audio to the then governor Ibaneis Rocha (MDB ) to reassure you about moving around in the capital.
By WhatsApp, at 1:23 pm, about an hour before the invasions, he sent the following message to Ibaneis: “Governor, send a last report here, at noon, for you. All calm, the demonstrators are coming down from the SMU [Urban Military Sector, where the Army HQ is located, in front of which they were camped], controlled, escorted by the police. We had a negotiation for them to come down in a peaceful, organized, accompanied manner. They agreed, there was no need to contain it up there ”, he said. “It is a very calm, very mild climate, with a very smooth movement and a totally peaceful demonstration. So far, our intelligence is monitoring and there is no report of aggressiveness linked to this type of behavior”, he added, adding that there were over 150 buses in the Federal District, “but all in an orderly and peaceful way”.
Soon after, Ibaneis responded by writing: “Wonderful”. At 3:39 pm, when invaders were already breaking into the seats of power, he sent another message: “Put everything out on the street”. Later, the now removed governor apologized to Lula da Silva, and to the presidents of the STF, the Chamber and the Senate. “We have been monitoring since yesterday afternoon, together with Minister Flávio Dino, all these movements that were arriving in the Federal District. We talked from yesterday to today several times and we never believed that these demonstrations would take the proportions they did”, he said, in a video released on the networks.
WERE THERE INFILTRATORS WHO TRIGGERED ACTS OF VANDALISM?
Several videos made by the protesters themselves point to alleged intruders in the act that would have initiated the invasions, depredations and violence. Some were reported to the police on the spot and were arrested. The investigation and the testimonies will be able to clarify at whose command they went to the place and why they acted in a criminal way.
With information from Gazeta do Povo