BNT "No Amnesty!" On Monday afternoon - 2023

henriettajsmith2

the chant that could be heard echoing off the walls of the crowded hall at the law college of the University of Sao Paulo was "Brazilian Protests Demand Jail For Rioters." It became the rallying cry for thousands of Brazilians who poured into the streets of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo carrying protest banners and posters hours later.

The words are a demand for retribution against those who enabled the rampage and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who stormed Brazil's capital on Sunday.

On the main boulevard in Sao Paulo, Bety Amin, a 61-year-old therapist, stated, "These people need to be punished, the people who ordered it need to be punished, and those who gave money for it need to be punished." Her shirt's back was covered in the word "DEMOCRACY." Brazil is not represented by them. We stand for Brazil."

The demand for accountability made by protesters brings back memories of an amnesty law that, from 1964 to 1985, protected military personnel accused of abuse and murder. Brazil's response to the legacy of the regime was the subject of debate following a report from the truth commission in 2014.

In a column titled "No Amnesty," which was published on Monday evening, Luis Felipe Miguel, a professor of political science at the University of Brasilia, wrote that refusing to impose punishment "can avoid tensions at the moment, but perpetuates instability." Brazil's decision not to punish the regime's murderers and torturers at the end of the military dictatorship should have taught us that.

On Monday, roughly 1,500 rioters had already been apprehended by Brazilian police. Some were caught trashing Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace, but the majority were arrested the next morning at an encampment in Brasilia. Throughout the day, many were held in a gymnasium, and pro-Bolsonaro social media videos showed people complaining about poor treatment in the crowded space.