Four military personnel and a police agent held on suspicion of plan to prevent inauguration of president

Brazil’s federal police have arrested four special forces military personnel and one of their own agents on suspicion of planning the assassination of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 15 December 2022 to prevent his inauguration after his victory over the then president, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro.

According to the police, the plot also included plans to assassinate the vice-president, Geraldo Alckmin, and the supreme court justice, Alexandre de Moraes, who at the time was already leading investigations into the so-called “hate cabinet,” as Bolsonaro mobs had become known.

Doctors say president sustained ‘great’ trauma to head and slight brain bleed, with long-haul travel cancelled as a precaution but is otherwise fit for duty

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on Sunday cancelled his trip to Russia for the Brics summit after a fall at home caused a minor brain haemorrhage.

In a statement, the presidential office said Lula, 78, would participate via videoconference after receiving medical advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights. He was initially scheduled to depart at 5pm on Sunday.

Brazil’s president has nixed commemorations of the 1964 coup, possibly to avoid irking the military as senior officers facing jail for allegedly conspiring to stop Lula taking power after 2022 election

Relatives of the victims of Brazil’s brutal two-decade dictatorship have voiced anger and dismay over President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s reported decision to block official remembrance events marking the 60th anniversary of the 1964 military coup d’état.

Activists had hoped the leftist’s government would mark the 31 March 2024 anniversary of that power-grab with a series of memorials honouring the thousands who were killed, disappeared or tortured by the 1964-85 regime.

Brazilian leaders mark first anniversary of insurrection in Brasília that saw Bolsonaristas attempt to topple new government

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has hailed the “victory of democracy over authoritarianism”, one year on from the 8 January insurrection in Brasília in which supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in an attempt to topple the newly inaugurated leftist government.

Several hundred people gathered in the seat of Congress in Brasília on Monday afternoon for an event marking the first anniversary of what many see as the Brazilian version of the 6 January Capitol attack in the US. Leaders representing the three branches of government took to the stage under a screen emblazoned with the words “Democracy Unshaken” to celebrate the resilience of Brazilian democracy and unequivocally condemn the actions of the violent mob that rampaged through the capital a year ago after refusing to accept their leader’s electoral defeat.