A man was found dead near the Brazilian Supreme Court in Brasilia on Wednesday evening, November 13. He carried explosives on him and died after trying to enter the headquarters of the high court. According to preliminary information, it was a “suicide” which caused no injuries.
This attempted attack targeting a major institution of Brazilian democracy takes place in a particularly strong context: left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hosts a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next week and a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Brasilia.
“First there was the explosion (of a) car”, then an “individual approached the Federal Supreme Court, tried to enter, did not succeed and the explosion is produced in front of the door,” the governor of Brasilia, Celina Leao, told the press.
A little earlier, in a press release, the court had announced that at the end of Wednesday's session, “two loud explosions were heard and the judges were evacuated from the building for safety”. The staff on site were also evacuated “as a precautionary measure”.
The Supreme Court is located on the Place des Trois-Pouvoirs, heart of Brazilian democracy, where it faces the presidential palace and the Parliament. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was not at the presidential palace at the time of the explosions, said a presidential spokesperson.
On January 8, 2023, a week after Lula's return to power, thousands of supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, former far-right head of state, had stormed and ransacked the headquarters of the institutions on the Place des Trois-Pouvoirs. The authorities had finally regained control of the situation.
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