Maringa, BRAZIL – Today, two months after the presidential election that ousted the former president, a group of vandals invaded the Federal Congress and the presidential house, Palácio do Planalto, located in Brasília, the national capital.
With the false claim that they are fighting for justice and peace, these supporters of the former president, Jair Messia Bolsonaro, are putting Brazilian democracy at risk.
There are reports that a photojournalist with the Brazilian magazine Metropole was seriously injured.
It is an upsetting situation for the nation and a shame for our history.
In October, I interviewed some young people about the upcoming presidential election. I never imagined that 16-year-old Ana Carolina Saturnino, a high school student at Colégio Parigot de Souza in Mandaguaçu, Paraná, would be right when she said, “People could even invade the Palácio do Planalto (the governmental house), if they don’t agree with the results.”
Despite 21 years of living under a dictatorship (1964-1981), some Brazilians didn’t learn anything from that dark age. Since last year, they have been requesting a federal intervention, which they believe will save the country from corruption and leftist ideologies like those espoused by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the new president.
What we can see is how distorted ideas are blinding people. They only see what they want, instead of what is fair.
Bolsonaro, our last leader, used religious speech to persuade people to support his ideals, and unfortunately it worked very well. In many churches, divine words were used to bring more supporters to Bolsonaro.
Today, my generation is living through the worst type of dictatorship, the kind I’ve only read about in the dystopia of George Orwell’s novel 1984, which closed characters’ minds and created truly devoted robots who served a leader they had never seen in person.
Those vandals in Brasília are using our imperial flag – not the current flag, which represents our republic, but an older one that was used when the country was a monarchy – to support their actions. The colorful flag of Brazil is getting gloomy and I am afraid it won’t shine its bright colors in the same way anymore.
Nicole Luna is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
