President Lula attended the event to condemn the ‘coup’ against him led by supporters of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva celebrated the second anniversary of the attack on the government building in the square where the violence broke out.
Lula, who underwent surgery last month to treat a brain hemorrhage, appeared at the Plaza de Triomphe in the capital Brasilia on Wednesday and likened the Jan. 8, 2023, riots to a coup against his presidency.
He also used the opportunity to plan a defiance following the attack, in which thousands of protesters broke into the presidential palace, the Supreme Court building and parliament.
“Today is the day to say it loud and clear. We are still here,” Lula told supporters.
“We are here to say that contrary to what the coup plotters had planned on January 8, 2023, we are alive and democracy is alive.”
The January 8 attack came just seven days after left-wing leader Lula was sworn in for a non-consecutive third term.
At the time, Lula was not at the presidential palace, and the Brazilian National Assembly was not in session. But the attack caused millions of dollars in damage and injured dozens of law enforcement officers and protesters.
Many of the rioters attempted to launch a military uprising against Lula’s presidency.
Lula’s election was a close one. He held a runoff election against incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in October 2022 and won by the narrowest margin in Brazilian history. The gap between the two candidates was just over 2.1 million votes.
However, far-right Bolsonaro spread false claims long before the election that Brazil’s electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud, and refused to publicly acknowledge defeat in the vote.
This sparked widespread protests, with Bolsonaro supporters blocking highways and attacking police headquarters in Brasilia. Bomb threats were reported in the capital ahead of the inauguration ceremony.
Bolsonaro left for Florida before Lula came to power. Since then, he has returned to the country and is facing numerous legal lawsuits and investigations.
Some have to do with his role in spreading misinformation about the election and his links to the January 8, 2023, attacks.
In June 2023, Brazil’s electoral court ruled that Bolsonaro cannot run for office again until 2030 as punishment for using government resources to sow distrust in the voting system.
And in November 2024, federal police formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 allies of plotting to overturn the results of the 2022 election. Prosecutor General Paulo Gone has not yet decided whether to formally indict the former president.
Other investigations have looked into whether Bolsonaro embezzled Saudi Arabian jewels while in office or spread misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nonetheless, Bolsonaro took to social media on Wednesday to claim that US President-elect Donald Trump had invited him to Washington DC for the January 20 inauguration ceremony.
“My lawyer, Dr. Paulo Bueno, has already conveyed to Minister Alexandre de Moraes a request to return my passport so that I can attend this honorable and important historical event,” Bolsonaro wrote.
His passport was confiscated while the investigation was ongoing.
