A corpse, lying in the night, on the Place des Trois-Pouvoirs, the heart of Brazilian democracy: the image was looped this Wednesday, November 13 on all the news channels. If the facts are confirmed, the country would thus be faced with an event of unprecedented gravity, a bomb attack against its highest institutions.
According to initial vague accounts provided by the press, a first detonation resounded around 7:30 p.m. in this vast square in Brasilia, surrounded by Congress, the Planalto presidential palace and the Supreme Federal Court (STF). The alleged perpetrator was quickly found dead, his body lying on the concrete, near the STF.
The man apparently tried in vain to enter the judicial institution, before throwing an explosive of an as yet undetermined nature towards the building. Was he hit by debris from his own machine? Or would he have decided to end his life by blowing himself up? According to several media, the perpetrator was carrying an explosive belt, leaving open the possibility of a suicide attack.
A few seconds later (or a few minutes, according to some versions), a second explosion hit the entrance to annex 4 of the Chambers of Deputies, located a few hundred meters from the Place des Trois-Pouvoirs, and housing the parliamentarians’ offices. This was caused by the explosion of a vehicle, belonging according to the police to the same man found dead near the STF, located a few hundred meters away.
Despite the panic, no official was injured by the detonations, which occurred outside the buildings. The Congress and the STF were quickly evacuated. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, then meeting in his official residence in Alvorada, located 4 kilometers to the east, was not present at his workplace.
Extreme, even paranoid, political beliefs
A few minutes were enough for the police to identify the author of the events and his worrying motivations. He is Francisco Wanderley Luiz, 59, a locksmith, originally from Rio do Sul, a city in the interior of the state of Santa Catarina (south).
In photos, “Tiu França” (his nickname) often appears debonair, with a bald head and a face invaded by large glasses, a Brazilian flag or a glass of wine in his hand. According to the press, the man recently suffered from serious psychological disorders following a difficult divorce. Broken, he then moved to Brasilia and vegetated in a favela in the city.
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