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Brazil: Photojournalists' account of the Planalto presidential palace invasion in Brasilia

  • Source: IAPA
  • January 19, 2023

"Ueslei Marcelino, from the Reuters Agency, said 'it was the biggest frustration I've had in my professional life' and the 'feeling of having been robbed of a historic record' is much greater than the physical pain. 'I went 24 hours without sleep, thinking about the historic images that were stolen from me.' When he arrived, he did something about the invasion of the National Congress, but the Planalto (presidential palace) had already been invaded. He said: 'I went up the ramp and in the second floor corridor I already started to see the destruction.' On the third floor, (there was an) atmosphere of confusion, destruction, a mob mentality, many fire extinguishers. Since he ran into another Reuters photographer, he decided to go to the Supreme Court (STF), which had also already been invaded.

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Inside the Supreme Court, the scene of destruction included ripped chairs, damaged artwork, destroyed benches. The invaders tried to set fire to furniture and objects, under the motto 'we are taking power.' One invader who was pouring water on artworks rushed at him (Marcelino) shouting 'who are you?,' 'are you crazy?,' 'do you want to die?' We were surrounded. They ripped out the battery and memory card, once again demonstrating their knowledge of the equipment. 'Not even during war did I have that feeling,' he said, after being expelled from the Supreme Court and arriving at Praça dos Tres Poderes without having been able to record what happened."

Read original article (in Spanish)