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SÃO PAULO and BRASÍLIA – With threats to Congress and the Federal Supreme Court (STF), more radical groups in support of the president Jair Bolsonaro They have been gaining prominence in demonstrations in favor of the federal government. In recent weeks, they have taken the lead in undemocratic acts in Brasilia. With a strong power of penetration with the president’s allies, one of them has attracted attention and has gained more and more followers.
Led by activist Sara Winter, a former member of the Ukrainian group Femen, “300 do Brasil” has published manifests suggesting the use of guerrilla tactics to “exterminate the left” and “take power for the people.” The name is a reference to the 300 of Sparta, a movie based on a comic that tells the saga of three hundred Spartan warriors who fought to the death to defend their territory.
Created last month, when the activist began recruiting volunteers into a group using the Telegram app, the group now has 3,200 participants. Some of them have been camped for days in the Esplanada dos Ministérios and say they will only leave there “when Rodrigo Maia falls”, referring to the mayor.
With disparate goals such as “regaining national sovereignty and seeking China’s economic independence,” as well as “fighting left-wing totalitarianism and the corruption mechanisms of the traditional political class,” the camp has been offering volunteers since April 27. training “with specialists in non-violent revolution”.
Last week, supporters of the president attacked journalists who were following a demonstration that ended in front of the Planalto. The case is being investigated by the Office of the Attorney General.
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The “300 do Brasil” also includes debates on “information warfare tactics, conferences on the current political, economic and social situation in Brazil”. The address of the farm where the main camp is located has not been disclosed, but it is in the Federal District.
The war tactics to which they refer would be the 198 methods of non-violent action published on the website of the right-wing ideologist Olavo de Carvalho, influential of President Bolsonaro and his sons. Its members’ discussions also include actions ranging from the making of posters, brochures and pamphlets to “non-violent harassment” and the alleged institution of a parallel government.
The group preaches that its participants “are not militants, but military”, and that “they need to regain power.” “Join us. Be part of the army that will exterminate the left and corruption,” says one of the official messages from the Telegram group, without making clear what kind of extermination he is referring to.
Banned by the Prime Minister from installing tents on the Esplanade, Sara Winter and a small group of militants maintain the occupation using sleeping bags.
Among the members of “300 do Brasil” are Evandro de Araújo Paula, advisor to federal deputy Bia Kicis (PSL-DF), who showed his support for the group. Araújo has already mocked the death of Marielle Franco and defended the arrest of Dias Toffoli and Gilmar Mendes on social media. He published on his Facebook, in January, a photo next to a T-shirt with the drawing of the murdered councilor, and the phrase: “Marielle lives, pissing (sic)”.
On another occasion, he wrote on the same network that “seeing Gilmar Mendes and Dias Toffoli in prison would be a magnificent thing.” The group is also made up of militants from different regions of the country. Evandro and Sara did not respond to requests for interviews made by GLOBO.
Last Thursday, the PSOL bank in the Chamber asked the Public Ministry to open an investigation to investigate Sara Winter and the possible “formation of militias” with the “300 of Brazil”. According to GLOBO columnist Bela Megale, Deputy Attorney General Luiza Frischeisen sent a representation to the Federal Attorney’s Office to request the field investigation.
Sara Winter was notable in radical law for her militancy against the decriminalization of abortion, after having gone through the feminist movement. In Femen (feminist group created in Ukraine in 2008), she met today with federal deputy Carla Zambelli (PSL-SP), also belonging to the group. The relationship between the two today, however, is no longer close.
Sara was a candidate for federal deputy in 2018 by the DEM, but was not elected. In 2019, she was called to coordinate maternity policies at the Ministry of Family, Women and Human Rights of Damares Alves, whom the activist considers her “second mother”.
Through crowdfunding, “300 do Brasil” raised more than R $ 60,000 for the camp, according to the virtual platform used by the group. The amount, Sara says, has no public money and is being used to “hire private property to harvest and train activists, in addition to preparing meals and making showers available for bathing.”
Third-party help is what keeps Sara Winter’s activism active. Claiming to have been “hit by this economic crisis,” she debuted on a crowdfunding platform for her followers to help her pay the bills. The goal is to raise R $ 5,000 per month to “pay all my bills and gradually pay off my credit card debt.” Currently, he regularly receives R $ 2,693 per month, donated by 114 supporters.
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