Anti-democratic protesters in Novo Progresso, in southwest Pará, attacked the PRF (Federal Highway Police) with stones and shots as police officers tried to unlock km 312 of the BR-163, one of the last points of interdiction by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro ( PL) who do not accept the president’s defeat to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) at the polls.
All the cars used by the PRF were damaged from the action on Monday (7), according to the police. The main form of aggression used was stoning. At least three vehicles were pierced by bullets, according to information from the corporation’s advisory.
Videos of the confrontation circulating on WhatsApp, whose authenticity has been confirmed by the PRF, show protesters attacking vehicles with stones, sticks and shooting, celebrating the attacks and saying in a mocking tone that the actions of the police are not welcome at the scene.
Highway police officers operating in Pará state that several groups participate in and finance the interdictions on the highways.
There is a suspicion that among these groups are miners and owners of equipment for illegal exploitation of gold in indigenous lands, a common practice in the Novo Progresso region.
Bolsonaro encouraged gold mining on indigenous lands during the four years of his term. Lula, on the other hand, said during the campaign that exploitation will not be tolerated, which displeases those who directly or indirectly exploit illegal activity.
The bolsonaristas armed themselves with sticks and stones, and the PRF responded with tear gas bombs thrown at the tents that guarantee the logistics of the camp.
With the damage of police cars and the need to retreat, the protesters celebrated the momentary departure of the PRF. “They rolled up, this is Novo Progresso”, they shouted.
The PRF told the Sheet which has already identified 18 people who participated in the attacks on security force agents. The names will be forwarded to the Judiciary for the preparation of arrest warrants.
Videos show vehicles with broken windshields, stoned bodywork and blown tires, leaving the area of the anti-democratic protest. Trucks block the highway.
“Regarding the recent videos released on social networks about the PRF’s action in Novo Progresso, it should be clarified that the operation aims to unblock a section of the federal highway (BR-163) that is being obstructed by protesters,” said the police. in Pará, in note.
In one of the videos, a child is carried by an adult during the confrontation. “The child who appears in the images felt sick, was rescued by federal highway police, taken to the emergency room, is well and has already been discharged. In the same occurrence, a federal highway police officer ended up being injured by the protesters”, says the note.
The blocked point is one of the few remnants of the Bolsonarista movement to block highways in the country, in an anti-democratic reaction to Lula’s victory. After a peak at the beginning of last week, after the second round, the acts ebbed and persisted this Monday only in a few localized points.
Bolsonaro was silent in the early days of the anti-democratic acts, as supporters incited the movement on social media. Only on Wednesday, three days after the defeat, the president posted a video asking protesters to clear the roads, so that people’s right to come and go would be respected.
The action of the PRF to stop the interdictions began to be investigated by the MPF (Federal Public Prosecutor), after videos circulated on social networks showing the collusion of agents with the actions. The suspicion is of omission.
The director general of the PRF, Silvinei Vasques, is also being investigated for an alleged impediment of voters in the Northeast from traveling on the day of the second round.
The de-interdiction of the roads only gained more impetus from the action of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), which validated the action of the military police in the blockades, and Bolsonaro’s video directed at the protesters.
Action then focused on army battalions and commands.
Collaborated with Raquel Lopes
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