CPLP heads of state invited to Brazil 200th independence anniversary celebrations

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CPLP heads of state invited to Brazil 200th independence anniversary celebrations

10:23 CAT | 02 Aug 2022

File photo: Lusa

The government of Brazil has invited the heads of state of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) to the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence on 7 September, it was announced on Monday.

The information that the government led by Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has invited the presidents of Portuguese-speaking countries to the festivities was confirmed by the foreign affairs ministry to the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper.

“So far, only the heads of state of the Portuguese language countries have been invited to the festivities of the bicentenary of Brazil’s independence,” the ministry said in a statement.

Sources consulted by the Brazilian newspaper said the invitation is regarding the festivities in Brasilia, including the parade.

The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, is expected to attend the event in Brasilia. There is no confirmation yet on the presence of the other CPLP heads of state at the celebrations.

On Saturday, during the launch of the candidacy of his former infrastructure minister Tarcisio de Freitas for the regional government of Sao Paulo, Jair Bolsonaro again called on supporters for celebrations of the 200th anniversary of independence on September 7.

“On the 7th, I will be in Brasilia in the morning, with the people in the street, with the troops parading. In the afternoon, I wanted, as I was here last year (…) I know we are Paulistas, but we are all Brazilians,” Bolsonaro said at Freitas’ candidacy confirmation event held by the Republican party in São Paulo.

“I know you wanted it here, but we want to innovate in Rio de Janeiro. At 4pm on September 7, for the first time, our Armed Forces and our sisters, auxiliary forces, will be parading on Copacabana beach alongside our people,” he added.

This was not the president’s first statement calling on his supporters to take to the streets to commemorate Brazil’s independence.

In his speech launching his re-election bid on July 24, the Brazilian head of state called on his supporters to take to the streets “one last time” on that date and then attacked judges he considers to be acting against his re-election.

“We are the majority, we are of the good, we are willing to fight for our freedom, for our homeland. I call on all of you now for everyone, on September 7, to go to the streets for the last time,” the Brazilian president said at the Liberal Party (PL) convention that confirmed his candidacy on July 24.

“These few deaf black-clad people have to understand what the voice of the people is. They have to understand that those who make the laws are the executive power and the legislative power,” Bolsonaro added, indirectly referring to judges of the STF and the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), who he considers acting against him and his government.

Last year, the Brazilian president also called for acts of support for his government on September 7.

Speaking in São Paulo at a protest organised on 7 September 2021 on Avenida Paulista, a central point of the city, Bolsonaro attacked judges he considered acting against his government and even declared that he would no longer accept court orders from STF judge Alexandre de Moraes.

Two days later, amid heavy pressure over fears his actions would lead to an institutional breakdown, the Brazilian head of state released a public letter written by former Brazilian president Michel Temer in which he backtracked and said he never had “any intention of assaulting any of the powers”.

“For this reason I want to declare that my words, sometimes forceful, stemmed from the heat of the moment and from clashes that have always aimed at the common good,” he added in the same document.

Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and Timor-Leste are the nine member states of the CPLP.

Source: Lusa