Police broke the law by allowing provocateurs at a rally in defense of Petrobras.

By Eduardo Guimarães, from Citizenship Blog

The demonstration in defense of Petrobras that took place last Tuesday in the auditorium of the Brazilian Press Association, in downtown Rio de Janeiro, was convened and announced well in advance. Like any public demonstration, everyone knew it would occupy the area in front of and nearby. Because of this, the police and traffic authorities were notified.

The media, unlike its coverage of the attacks suffered by people wearing red clothing during protests against Dilma Rousseff and the PT (Workers' Party), gave significant prominence to the confrontation that erupted because anti-PT protesters went to the ABI (Brazilian Press Association) to insult those defending Petrobras.

The photo that graced the front page of today's major newspapers didn't tell the whole story. The video below offers some clues as to what really happened.

VIDEO ON THE BLOG

Regardless, there were far more "PT" (Workers' Party) or "CUT" (Unified Workers' Central) or "petroleum workers" protesters than anti-PT protesters. It's obvious that a small group going to provoke a demonstration of people with opposing political leanings couldn't end well.

What is astonishing is that citizens who dare to wear red clothing have been verbally and physically assaulted in the streets by anti-PT (Workers' Party) supporters since June 2013, and this has never made newspaper headlines. One of the most emblematic cases is that of the lawyer who was physically and verbally assaulted in the Paulista Avenue area of ​​São Paulo for wearing a red shirt.

VIDEO ON THE BLOG

This is just one case. Another prominent case was, in fact, denounced This blog reported on a story during last year's election, when a wheelchair user was attacked by anti-PT supporters for wearing a PT t-shirt.

However, the central issue of this post is not about the facts that led to Tuesday's conflict in Rio, but about the unacceptable behavior of the police in the face of the criminal actions of the provocateurs who conspired to disrupt the demonstration in defense of Petrobras.

Before proceeding, a brief aside: countless articles in the mainstream press stated that people who were "passing by" the pro-Petrobras demonstration insulted the protesters and were assaulted. Now, as far as we know, nobody leaves home carrying Brazilian flags unless they intend to participate in some public event. The anti-PT (Workers' Party) protesters who were "passing by" were carrying those flags, so they weren't there by chance. It's worth noting.

But, in short, the fact is that these people had no right to be there and the police should have removed them. Why shouldn't they have been there? Well, because of Article 5 of the Federal Constitution, specifically its section on the right to protest. See below.

Article 5 of the Federal Constitution

XVI – Everyone may assemble peacefully, without weapons, in places open to the public, regardless of authorization, provided that they do not disrupt another meeting previously convened for the same location, with only prior notice to the competent authority being required;

As you can see, it is forbidden to go to a public event with which one disagrees in order to provoke or contest that event. The law is very clear. The police know this, of course. Why didn't they remove the provocateurs from the scene?

Furthermore, it's worth noting that a former president of the Republic was present at that location, and in any democratic country, a former president has the right to protection. What if, instead of 15 people, there had been 1.500? They could have stormed the ABI auditorium and even assassinated the former president.

The most worrying thing, however, is in the report that our reader Alessandro Souza posted here on this page. Check it out below.

Alessandro Souza

1 approved

Sent on 25/02/2015 at 00:24 | In response to Hermes Sanchez.

I was there [at the demonstration in defense of Petrobras] and I just got home. The lack of awareness of these "pro-impeachment" demonstrators is frightening! A handful of "stragglers" offending and provoking at least 400 activists who were there defending a cause of national interest could not, under any circumstances, end well.

There were even federal police officers there, identified with their badges and carrying bladed weapons (retractable baton and brass knuckles) to intimidate the Workers' Party militants! Honestly, I think the damage they suffered was even small compared to the tragedy that could have happened.

Personally, I went to the PMERJ (Military Police of Rio de Janeiro) patrol car to report the incident to the officer on duty, explaining that this provocation would not end well and that the federal agent present was contributing to the heightened tension. My response was: “If the PT (Workers' Party) thieves are fighting on one side and this idiot on the other, I want them to get screwed!”

I went back and asked the federal police officer if he was there on duty or to engage in politics, and that the responsibility for perimeter security lay with the military police. He said he was there because he was a police officer 24 hours a day and that he was within his rights. I retorted that, in that case, he shouldn't be displaying his badge, because his status there was identical to that of any activist present at the location. His response was that I should file a complaint against him with the internal affairs department.

I took some photos of him with my cell phone and asked for his name and registration number, to which he replied it was Leonardo, registration number 8566 (I don't know if he gave the correct information). I sought out some PT (Workers' Party) representatives at the location and reported the incident. They also took some photos of the individual and said they would take the "appropriate measures."

Shortly after, the first physical assaults began.

If in 2013 we had the famous "June Days" and in 2014 the protests against the World Cup, now, in 2015, everything indicates that we will have real pitched battles in the streets with casualties on both sides. Just wait!