Floors without the original stones, broken glass, furniture partially submerged in water and a persistent smell of tear gas. The state of Palácio do Planalto, headquarters of the Presidency in Brasília, vandalized by Bolsonarists, brought tears from its employees.
ADVERTISING
“I cried,” said, this Monday (9), an employee upon returning to work in the vandalized building, one day after the invasion by a crowd of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Cleaning teams swept and began to lift armchairs and other furniture left in front of the building, some thrown over the reflecting pool of the building with large spaces, an icon of modernist architecture.
Meanwhile, government officials tried to recover some normality after the invasion of the headquarters of the Three Powers, in the federal capital.
ADVERTISING
Photos of former presidents on the ground
Sunday's incidents left facades marked with graffiti and broken windows; Inside, doors and windows were damaged and some cabinets were vandalized.
In Planalto, the invaders ripped stones from the ground to use as ammunition against the police and the windows of the facade of this jewel designed by Oscar Niemeyer for the federal capital, registered with UNESCO as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Fire hoses, chairs and other furniture, including a large carved wooden table, were left exposed to the elements, along with remains of projectiles and tear gas bombs used by law enforcement to disperse the invaders.
ADVERTISING
A faint smell of gas could be smelled around the building, more than twelve hours after the incidents. Despite this, the atmosphere was calm.
In the palace lobby, photos of former presidents lay on the floor with their frames broken, with the marble wall where they usually hang as a silent witness to the Bolsonaristas' fury.
Destruction of public property
Traces of blood were still visible in the ground floor offices, according to an employee. Feces and urine were also left there.
ADVERTISING
Access to the interior of the Planalto was restricted due to damage caused to the X-ray machines.
A group of employees were checking the damage caused to the painting “As Mulatas”, by Di Cavalcanti, which had been pierced several times, allegedly with knives.
The Palácio do Planalto houses more than a hundred paintings and sculptures, as well as furniture by Niemeyer himself.
ADVERTISING
“Practically all the works of art are damaged,” said an employee, who asked to have her identity preserved.
At the National Congress, the panorama was similar: broken glass scattered across the floor, hanging wires and destroyed furniture. The door to the Senate was in tatters.
“It’s a tragedy,” Tiago Amaral, 34, an employee in the office of PT senator Jaques Wagner, told AFP. “The destruction goes beyond damage to public property, it is an attack on democracy.”
Siege of extremists
1200 Bolsonaristas who participated in the acts of vandalism were arrested and will face a series of crimes, such as an attempted coup d'état and damage to public property. Financiers, instigators and intellectual authors are also in the sights of the Federal Police, informed the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino. “There will be temporary and preventive arrests to guarantee public order.”
The minister also said that a good number of these radicals were in the Bolsonarist camp in front of the Brasília headquarters, which were dismantled this Monday.
(With information from AFP)
See also:
Receive news and newsletters do Curto News by Telegram e WhatsApp.
