Bia Lula, granddaughter of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attended the technical rehearsal of Acadêmicos de Niterói at Sapucaí on Friday, June 30, a school that will dedicate its Carnival parade to her grandfather. The event featured provocations against Jair Bolsonaro, and a deputy has sued to block public funding to the group.
Acadêmicos de Niterói was the first school to parade in the technical rehearsal on Friday, June 30, at Marquês de Sapucaí in Rio de Janeiro. The group prepared an enredo honoring President Lula's history, focusing on his trajectory told through his mother, according to reports. Bia Lula, the president's granddaughter, attended with security and expressed emotion: “It’s very moving, especially because the enredo is (told) through my great-grandmother, with so many stories of my grandfather. So, it’s very beautiful. I’ve already been to the barracão, the school is very organized, bringing his story. For me, it’s an honor. The homage is being made this year, which is so important for us. I’ve paraded once in São Paulo, when they honored my grandfather too, but in Rio it’s my first time and I confess I’m already very emotional and anxious, because this energy here is surreal”.
Although carnavalesco Tiago Martins stated that the enredo does not criticize opponents, the rehearsal included allegories with memes satirizing Bolsonaro as convicted by the Justice. Interpreter Emerson Dias exclaimed: “It’s the left foot on the avenue”.
Meanwhile, federal deputy Kim Kataguiri (União-SP) filed a popular action in the 4th Federal Civil Court of São Paulo to suspend a R$1 million transfer from Embratur to the school, part of R$12 million distributed by LIESA. Kataguiri criticizes the use of public funds as electoral propaganda: “Samba school is not an electoral captain! [...] Want to honor a politician? Do it with your own money”. Judge Raquel Fernandes Perrini postponed the decision on the injunction until after contestations, with a 20-day deadline. Carnival will take place from February 14 to 18. The school's samba-enredo is the least played on Spotify among Rio's groups.
