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2002 Esteiran self-coup d'état: Difference between revisions
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| combatants_header = Parties to the civil conflict
| combatant1 = {{flagicon|Esteira}} '''Government'''
*{{nowrap|{{flagicon image|PPE Logo.png}} [[Esteiran
{{flagicon|Esteira}} [[Esteiran National Police]]
{{flagicon|Esteira}} [[Esteiran Military Forces]]
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Anti-Souza protestors
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| commander1 = {{flagicon|Esteira}} [[Luis Souza]] <br>
{{flagicon|Esteira}} [[Mateus Torres]]<br>{{flagicon|Esteira}} Horácio Fidalgo <br> {{flagicon|Esteira}} Jorginho Almeida
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|PLN Flag.png}} Danilo Brandão <br> {{flagicon image|PPS Flag.png}} Cristiano Siqueira <br> {{flagicon image|USE Flag.png}} Jaqueline Nogueira <br> {{flagicon|Esteira}} Mariana Agostinho
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The '''2002 Esteiran self-coup d'état''', also known as '''A Aquisição''' ('''The Takeover'''), took place on April 4, 2002 when [[President of Esteira|President]] [[Luis Souza]] ordered the [[Esteiran National Police]] and the [[Esteiran Military Forces]] to seize control of [[Esteira|Esteira's]] legislative and judicial bodies. Souza also ordered the arrest of political opponents, including the leaders of the [[National Liberal Party of Esteira|National Liberal Party]]. An {{wp|autocoup}}, Souza headed an emergency session of the [[National People's Assembly of Esteira|National People's Assembly]] that was attended by only
Nationwide demonstrations began soon after the news broke of the autocoup. These demonstrations were met with heavy resistance from the National Police, military, and pro-Souza demonstrators. The ensuing violence led to the deaths of 149 civilians, with hundreds more wounded and thousands arrested.
==Background==
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=== Souza as President ===
Souza defeated Vomlel by
His [[1996 Esteiran presidential election|reelection in 1996]] was marred with reports of voter fraud and intimidation, rapidly increasing the rate of Esteira's democratic backsliding. With the PPE still in control of the National People's Assembly, Souza was able to abolish term limits and announced his intention to run for president once again in 2001. He won a third term in [[2001 Esteiran presidential election|an election widely considered fraudulent]], which drew criticism from opposition candidates, parties, and from more centrist members of the PPE. The Esteiran populace was beginning to grow weary of Souza's power consolidation, which by now had seen the stripping of powers to challenge the president from the Constitutional Court and National People's Assembly. Protests were widespread but short-lived, stamped out by the [[Esteiran National Police|National Police]].
During his first years as president, Souza made sure to appoint loyalists and those who were supportive of the PPE to key positions within the Military Forces and National Police. While he faced with allegations of nepotism, there was little the opposition parties could do to combat the appointments.
Souza had allegedly been planning "Operation Sweep" ({{Wp|Portuguese|Esteiran}}'': Operação Varredura'') since early 2000, but did not have all the pieces in place until after he secured his third term. With the support of PPE leadership, the National Police, and the military, Souza launched his {{Wp|autocoup}}.
==Self-coup==
Operation Sweep had several moving parts that worked in tandem to ensure the autocoup's success. With friends and close associates in
===Launch===
''See also: [[2002 Porto Verde attacks]]''
[[File:2002 Porto Verde bombing image.jpg|left|thumb
At approximately 09:30 am EST on April 4, 2002, a bomb was detonated in front of the Esteiran People's Party headquarters building, located at 156 W Menezes St in [[Porto Verde]]. The blast killed 12 civilians, including the PPE's national chairman (Feliciano Caetano) and two deputy secretaries (Zeferino Queiroz and Paulina Gomes). All three were generally considered to be opponents to Souza within the PPE.
For the next 75 minutes, representatives of the PPE were assassinated or wounded in shooting or bomb attacks. By 11:00 am,
Souza appeared on television at 11:
At 11:30 am, National Police units that had moved into positions across the city began executing arrest warrants for party leadership of the PLN, the Solidarity Party (PS), and Socialist Esteiran Union (USE).
=== Arrest of political opponents ===
Souza had provided the head of the National Police force, Director General [[Ariana Torres]], with a
PLN presidential candidate [[Eduardo Resendes]] was shot and killed by a National Police officer outside his home in Murça, Aguande Department.
In total the National Police arrested 627 political opponents to Souza across Esteira, most of whom belonging to opposition parties.
[[File:Esteiran troops outside People's Assembly.jpg|thumb|Soldiers of the [[Esteiran Army]] outside the Legislative Palace in Porto Verde.]]
Souza ordered the seizure of several buildings across Porto Verde, the most notable being the National People's Assembly building, the Constitutional Court building, the Esteiran Public Radio building, and the Esteiran Public Broadcasting Service television tower. Additionally, Souza deployed two platoons from the [[Esteiran Army]] to further secure the Presidential Palace in case of opposition.
Pro-Souza elements of the Esteiran Army seized control of the National People's Assembly Building at 12:00 pm, forming a defensive perimeter and blocking access to the building. The building was evacuated under the guise of a bomb threat, which was unfounded. With the building fully secured Souza authorized PPE party members to enter so they could begin the emergency session ordered by Souza. All other party members were refused access and forcibly blocked, and were physically removed from the building if they managed to get passed the soldiers.
Additional pro-Souza elements of the army moved in and detained the justices of the Constitutional Court and fully secured the Constitutional Court building by 12:10 pm, establishing a cordon.
At the same time, the National Police Critical Incident Response Unit
===Emergency session===
▲===Seizure of the Constitutional Court===
==Aftermath==
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