2002 Esteiran self-coup d'état
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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 Luis Souza ordered the Esteiran National Police and the Esteiran Military Forces to seize control of Esteira's legislative and judicial bodies. Souza also ordered the arrest of political opponents, including the leaders of the National Liberal Party. An autocoup, Souza headed an emergency session of the National People's Assembly that was attended by only members of his party, the Esteiran People's Party, and was granted widespread dictatorial powers through the National Security and Stable Leadership Act of 2002.
| 2002 Esteiran self-coup d'état | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Internal conflict in Esteira | |||||||
 National Police mounted officers move to secure a street in Porto Verde | |||||||
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| Parties to the civil conflict | |||||||
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Pro-Souza protestors |
Anti-Souza protestors | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Luis Souza Horácio Fidalgo Jorginho Almeida |
 Danilo Brandão  Cristiano Siqueira  Jaqueline Nogueira Mariana Agostinho | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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Thousands of soldiers Hundreds of policemen Tanks Armored personnel carriers | Thousands of protestors | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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9 soldiers killed 4 policemen killed Tens wounded |
149 civilians killed Hundreds wounded Thousands arrested | ||||||
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. The demonstrations came to an end on June 2, 2002.
Background
Esteira's population had begin shifting to the right as the economy began stagnating while under the National Liberals (PLN) during the late 1970s. A resurgence of right-wing populism not seen since the early 1920s became relatively commonplace in Esteira, though they remained on the fringes of the political world.
Souza wins the Assembly
Luis Souza was elected to represent Matondao's District 2 and was considered a leader of the populist faction within the Esteiran People's Party (PPE). Souza's popularity and influence soared as more candidates adopted his platform, eventually leading to his election to Speaker in 1987 when the PPE won their first majority since the 1960s.
Souza had begun laying the groundwork for his anti-establishment and "Esteira First" platform after his election to Speaker, using his position to cripple Maximiliano Vomlel politically, forcing through policies and laws that were beneficial to Souza, the PPE, and Esteira's right. Souza's Assembly overrode a record 24 vetoes from Vomlel, setting the stage to give Souza more freedom once he ran for president in 1991.
Souza as President
Souza defeated Vomlel by a landslide in the general election held on March 31, 1991 and was inaugurated as president on May 1, 1991. In his first term, Souza took steps to weaken the power of the Constitutional Court and received his first allegations of abuse of power in 1993. Souza escalated verbal attacks on media and journalists he deemed "anti-Esteiran" and began curtailing individual liberties of those he considered to be "enemies of the state." Political violence against critics of the PPE and Souza rose significantly, and domestic terrorism saw a rapid increase.
His 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 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 National Police.
Souza had allegedly been planning "Operation Sweep" (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 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 power in the National Police, Military Forces, and the leadership of the PPE, Souza launched Operation Sweep on the morning of April 4, 2002.
Launch
See also: 2002 Porto Verde attacks
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, 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, 12 representatives were killed and 21 were wounded, representing nearly 20% of the PPE's representation in the National People's Assembly. The victims were widely reported to oppose Souza and were considering breaking with the PPE and attempt to impeach Souza.
Souza appeared on television at 11:22 am and denounced the attacks, claiming that the attacks were the work of internal enemies of Esteira and were supported by parties in opposition to the PPE. Souza swore to bring the perpetrators to justice and declared a state of emergency in the capital district. The state of emergency established a curfew and shelter-in-place order in the city, with the curfew going into effect at 05:00 pm. Souza activated the National Police's Critical Incident Response Unit (URIC), as well as the Esteiran military units garrisoned in the city. Souza elected to hold an emergency session of the National People's Assembly, however he neglected to inform the opposition parties.
At 05:00pm, Souza ordered a media blackout and the plan's second phase went into action.
Arrest of political opponents
Souza had provided the National Police with a list of political opponents that allegedly had ties with the attack on the Esteiran People's Party. The Police General of the National Police Mateus Torres, was a close personal friend of Souza and assisted in the planning of Operation Sweep, so he had no problem issuing the arrest orders of opposition leadership. These arrests included the leaders of the National Liberal Party, whom Souza accused were the perpetrators of the attack.
Seizure of the National People's Assembly
The National Police's URIC team seized control of the National People's Assembly Building at 05:16 pm, forming a defensive perimeter and blocking the opposition parties from entering the grounds.