Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has marked the second anniversary of an attack on government buildings with a celebration in the plaza where the violence took place.
On Wednesday, Lula – who underwent surgery last month to treat bleeding in his brain – appeared in the Three Powers Plaza in the capital Brasilia to denounce the riots of January 8, 2023, which he has likened to a coup against his presidency.
He also used the occasion to project defiance in the wake of the attack, which saw thousands of protesters break into the presidential palace, Supreme Court building and Congress.
“Today is the day to say loud and clear: We’re still here,” Lula told his supporters.
“We’re here to say that we are alive and that democracy is alive, contrary to what the January 8, 2023, coup plotters had planned.”
The attack on January 8 came just seven days after Lula, a left-wing leader, had been inaugurated for a non-consecutive third term.
Lula was not in the presidential palace at the time, nor was Brazil’s Congress in session. But the attack caused millions of dollars in damage, and dozens of law enforcement officers and protesters were injured.
Many of the rioters had sought to spur a military uprising against Lula’s presidency.
Lula’s election had been narrow: He entered a run-off race against incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in October 2022 and emerged victorious by one of the tightest margins in Brazilian history. Just over 2.1 million votes separated the two candidates.
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