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The destruction caused by Bolsonaro protesters, advocates of a coup d'état, at the headquarters of the Three Branches of Government in Brasilia, turned two years old on Wednesday (8). And to remember the seriousness of the episodes and reinforce the importance of democracy, the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), held a ceremony at the Planalto Palace with the participation of authorities.

“We're still here,” said the president in reference to the film by Walter Salles, based on the book of the same name by Marcelo Rubens Paiva. He continued. “We are here to say that we are alive and that democracy is alive, contrary to the plans of a coup plot on January 8, 2023. We are here, women and men, from different backgrounds, beliefs, parties and ideologies, united by a common cause. We are here to say loud and clear: dictatorship never again, democracy always”, said Lula.

Earlier, offhandedly, the president called those behind the coup attempt “a bunch of aloprados” and referred to the plan that involved the assassination of himself, then vice-president-elect Geraldo Alckimin, and the then president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Minister Alexandre de Moraes.

“I escaped an attempt together with 'Xandão' and Alckimin,” he said, joking about the nickname attributed to the Supreme Court minister Alexandre de Moraes, and the Vice-President Geraldo Alckimin. “I wonder, if their coup attempt had succeeded, what would happen in this country? They were thinking of killing the president of the Electoral Court, the vice-president of the Republic and me, and we managed to escape,” said Lula.

In addition to the government ministers and First Lady Janja Silva, the heads of the Armed Forces were present: Army Commander General Tomás Paiva, Air Force Commander Brigadier Marcelo Damasceno and Navy Commander Admiral Marcos Olsen. The senator and vice-president of the Federal Senate, Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB-PB) attended on behalf of Congress, and the vice-president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Justice Edson Fachin, represented the Court.

Justices Carmen Lúcia, president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and Herman Benjamin, who presides over the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) were also present, as well as Alexandre de Moraes and the dean of the STF, Gilmar Mendes. The governors of Rio Grande do Norte, Fátima Bezerra, Ceará, Elmano de Freitas, and Bahia, Jerônimo Rodrigues, also attended the event.

Edson Fachin read a letter from the president of the Supreme Court, Luís Roberto Barroso, who is traveling abroad. “Remembering this date is also an effort to turn the page, but without tearing it out of history, institutional maturity demands accountability for deviations of this nature. At the same time, however, we are here to reiterate our democratic values, our belief in pluralism and the feeling of fraternity,” read the words of Barroso, who advocated punishment for the crimes of January 8.

“Democracy is the regime of tolerance, of difference, of pluralism, of dissent, but it is not a right guaranteed by the Constitution to attack the conditions of existence of democracy itself. Violence is outside this pact and must be sanctioned, according to our legitimate Constitution,” Barroso wrote.

The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), who is also out of the country, released a note on the two-year anniversary of what he considered “criminal attacks against the buildings of the Three Powers and our democracy” and reaffirmed the importance of Wednesday's actions. “I congratulate the federal government and all the institutions involved in the ceremonies that reinforce the vigil in defense of the regime that I consider to be the fairest and most equitable in popular and social representation,” he wrote.

After the ceremony inside the Planalto Palace, President Lula and the authorities present went down the ramp to meet the pro-democracy demonstrators who had gathered in the Three Powers Square. The demonstration was called by popular movements and political parties that are part of the Peoples Without Fear and Popular Brazil fronts. Ceres Hadich, from the national leadership of the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST), highlighted the symbolism of Wednesday's actions after two years of the biggest attacks on institutions and the Brazilian people.

“We are present, we are united, and we are going to defend democracy in our country today and always, as an important step towards defending a popular project for our country. It is a determination of political action by the government itself and by the people not to accept attacks on our democracy and attacks on what has been so hard built over the years by the Brazilian people,” said Hadich.

At various points during the event, people chanted slogans against amnesty for the crimes committed on January 8, 2023, which are currently before Congress. “We came here to reaffirm our commitment to democracy, to embrace democracy, and to say no to amnesty. We defend the need to respect the due process of law, the presumption of innocence, but we must punish all those who undermined democracy and destroyed Brazilian heritage,” said Anderson Amaro, from the Small Farmers' Movement (MPA).

Federal deputy Tarcísio Motta (Psol-RJ) said that the party's bench remains firmly opposed to any initiative that seeks to amnesty the acts of January 8 and that it will demand a clear position on the issue from the next president of the House. “We're going to have this debate, including during the debates for the election of the Speaker of the House, so that we can even get Hugo Motta [favorite candidate for Speaker] to commit to not moving forward with these projects. Amnesty is unacceptable,” he said. “Brazilian justice needs to hold people accountable, respecting everyone's right to a full defense, but these people need to be held accountable. There can be no amnesty for an attempted coup in the midst of democracy. They need to be held accountable so that it is never forgotten and never happens again,” said the Psolista (Socialism and Liberty Party).

The attacks of January 8, 2023 in the Three Powers Square led to the arrest of at least 1,430 people. According to information from the STF, 310 people were convicted of involvement in the coup, 229 for carrying out the acts and 81 for inciting them. The sentences range from 15 to 17 years in prison, for crimes of armed criminal association, qualified damage, deterioration of listed heritage, violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and attempted coup d'état. Another 500 people signed a non-prosecution agreement and their cases were closed, according to a survey by the Attorney General's Office.