Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has raised serious allegations against the country’s secret services. None of the intelligence agencies of the air force, army and general intelligence Abin had warned him about the storming of government buildings on Jan. 8, he told Globo News.
He fired another 13 army officers who worked for the Office of the National Security Advisor. The office is responsible for the security of the head of state. He had already fired 40 military personnel in similar positions on Tuesday. The Federal Police should now be primarily responsible for the safety of Lula.
Ten days ago, thousands of supporters of the voted-out right-wing populist President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Congress, the Supreme Court and the Presidential Palace in Brasilia and destroyed the buildings. The situation was only under control a few hours later. Bolsonaro narrowly lost the runoff to Lula at the end of October. He did not acknowledge his electoral defeat and flew to Florida two days before the end of his term in office.
Lula, who was sworn in on January 1, blames Bolsonaro for the outbreak of violence. He rejects that. Lula also spoke about forthcoming contacts with foreign leaders. On January 30, he wants to receive Chancellor Olaf Scholz. (Report by Hans Busemann, edited by Birgit Mittwollen.