SAO PAULO (AP) – The emaciated monarch who declared Brazil’s independence returned to the South American nation on Tuesday for celebrations worthy of the head of state as the country prepares to celebrate its bicentenary.
The heart of Pedro I, contained in a golden relic, arrived in a Brazilian Air Force plane from Portugal on Monday. It was taken down the ramp of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Brasílian on Tuesday afternoon – in line with the procedures followed for visiting leaders on official state visits.
President Jair Bolsonaro welcomed the mausoleum with a cannon salute in the Brazilian capital. Cabinet Minister and First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro also attended a quick ceremony in honor of Brazil’s bicentenary.
Brazilians will be able to see the remains in the Foreign Ministry building.
Pedro I declared Brazil’s independence in 1822, and imperial rule lasted until 1889, when the monarchy gave way to a republic. Pedro I died 187 years ago and, according to his will, his heart was taken to the Portuguese city of Porto, where it is placed in a glass vase with formaldehyde in the Church of Our Lady of Lapa. He is known in Portugal as Pedro IV.
Lawmaker Luiz Philippe de Orléans e Bragança, a member of Brazil’s former royal family and a staunch supporter of Bolsonaro, said the idea to bring the monarch’s heart came from one of the president’s unofficial advisers.
“We lost a little bit of our context about the founders of Brazil, what they represented, what they thought, what they hoped for Brazil. It is very important to bring some of that back,” Braganca told radio station on Monday. Said in an interview with Jovem Pan. Bringing the heart to Brazil was “a demand of a part of our society that seeks a historic redemption.”
Brazil’s struggle for independence was in contrast to the bloody affairs of other Latin American countries. While there was some fighting, most of it was resolved through mediation of other countries and payment of a settlement by Brazil to Portugal. The European nation finally recognized Brazil’s statehood in 1825.
Some Brazilians who want to honor the monarchy’s legacy have allied with Bolsonaro, who is running for re-election. His critics have said that bringing Pedro I’s heart to Brazil is a gesture to such people and an example of the president playing politics with a bicentenary. He has repeatedly called on his supporters to take to the streets for Independence Day on September 7, and political analysts have expressed concern about possible violence.
“The arrival of the Heart of Peter I in Brazil will be an opportunity for the Brazilian people to pay tribute to a central figure of Brazil’s independence process,” Brazil’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Hriday will be returned to Portugal on September 8, the statement said. The government did not disclose how much the transportation of the heart cost the public exchequer.
(This story has not been edited by seemayo staff and is published from a rss feed)