Artworks are missing, furniture is damaged: it seems that former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro left nothing but chaos in the palace to his successor.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro appears to have left the official residence of the head of state in BrasÃlia in the worst possible state: New first lady Rosangela “Ganga da Silva led reporters from TV Globo through the Alvorada Palace on Friday to review its constitution, following excerpts from a previous occupant’s presentation.
Parts of the iconic building were “dilapidated,” said the wife of new president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during the tour, noting torn carpets, broken floors, broken windows and water damage to the ceiling. The huge banquet hall filmed by the TV crew was completely empty, with all the furnishings apparently removed.
da Silva: The presidential palace needs to be renovated
Rosangela da Silva said an unknown number of pieces of furniture and artwork from the presidential residence were missing. Other tapestries were damaged, and a 19th-century painting lay on the floor. In the historic library, on the other hand, there were electronics all over the place, where Bolsonaro gave weekly video addresses during his tenure, which ended at the turn of the year.
Da Silva announced that she and her husband would first restore the presidential palace and repair the damage. Only after a complete inventory did they want to move into the dwelling. The plan is to place pieces of furniture and works of art on the National Heritage List “so that it will never happen again that the president takes away historical objects belonging to the Brazilian state.”
