By calling “the police operation that killed 121 people in Rio de Janeiro, the president (PT) provoked new reactions from members of the opposition, who took to social media to criticize him.
“The concrete fact is that the operation from the point of view of the number of deaths, it was considered a success, but from the point of view of the State’s action, I think it was disastrous”, said the PT member this Tuesday morning (4) when speaking to journalists from international vehicles, during the , in .
In reaction, deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante (PL-RJ), PL leader in the Chamber, criticized the speech and the lack of mention of the four police officers who died in the operation.
“Finally, Lula came out of the closet and now he has to investigate with his PF the ‘KILLING’ that took place in RJ. He didn’t say anything about the 4 police officers killed in the operation. It is becoming increasingly clear which side the Descondenado is in this episode! The right will always be on the side of the law, the State and the police! PT PARTIDO DOS TRAFICANTES”, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), one of the sons of former president Jair Bolsonaro, countered the PT member’s statement stating that “killing is what factions and narco-terrorists do to the good people of Rio de Janeiro”.
Senator Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI) recovered a statement from Lula, which the PT member later retracted, to criticize this Tuesday’s statement. “Lula proves once again that he thinks drug traffickers are victims,” declared the parliamentarian.
Senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), leader of the opposition in the Senate, also went online against the president.
“See that the left’s logic on security is always from the perspective of the thief, the murderer, the one who commits the crime. It is never one of empathy for the victim, for the good citizen who has no peace. A message for Lula: it is the whole of society that deserves dignity, not those who subvert our democracy”, he wrote.
Hours after the interview was released, the president’s official account on X (formerly Twitter) published a note stating that the federal government is acting “to break the backbone” of drug trafficking and organized crime. The publication also reinforced the line adopted until then by Planalto that it is necessary to invest in intelligence and integration of security forces in the fight against factions.
In the post, the president also cited matters from the Executive that were sent to Congress and seek to combat organized crime, such as the Security PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) and the anti-faction bill.
“These measures complete the security cycle: more effective investigation, institutional integration and solid legal basis — a combination that consolidates the fight against crime in Brazil”, says the publication.
The president’s allies in Brasília minimized criticism of the statement made in the interview. They say that they did not see a change in Lula’s speech about the mega-operation in Rio and insisted that the strategy adopted by Planalto will be to focus on the processing of these proposals and on actions that combine intelligence and integration of forces.
The government and the president himself, through social media, had already spoken out about the case, talking about the need for coordinated work against drug trafficking.
Last week, the Executive approved a bill that combats organized crime. Furthermore, the proposal also criminalizes the obstruction of actions against organized crime.
The Rio operation was considered the deadliest in the state’s history. Faced with this fact, the Lula government clashed with the governor of Rio, Cláudio Castro (PL), who denied three requests for help from the Armed Forces to combat crime.
The statements were refuted through a note and in public speeches by government ministers. The head of the Justice and Public Security department, Ricardo Lewandowski, denied Castro’s accusations hours later, during a press conference.
