Enlarge image
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro with his wife Michelle at the urn containing the inlaid heart of the monarch Peter I
Photo: Mateus Bonomi/Getty Images
In 1822, Peter I proclaimed Brazil's independence.
200 years later, more parts of the monarch's body have now been transported to Brazil.
President Jair Bolsonaro accepted the heart of Brazil's first Emperor at a ceremony at the Palacio de Planalto in the capital, Brasília, to mark the anniversary.
Peter I's heart, preserved in formaldehyde, arrived on Monday on board a military plane and was transported onwards in a luxury limousine.
On the occasion of the celebrations of Brazil's declaration of independence, the preserved organ is on display at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
»Two countries, united by history, connected by heart.
Two hundred years of independence, and ahead of us: an eternity of freedom,” said Bolsonaro at the ceremony, to which his wife Michelle and several cabinet members accompanied him.
“God, fatherland, family!
Long live Portugal, long live Brazil!«
On September 7, 1822, the Portuguese "Dom Pedro" proclaimed Brazil's independence from Portugal.
As Peter I he was the first Emperor of Brazil between 1822 and 1831, and in 1826 he was also briefly King of Portugal under the name Peter IV.
Brazil's first emperor had lived in South America since early childhood: at the end of 1807, the Portuguese royal family and the then nine-year-old fled to the colony from Napoleon's troops.
The heart of the later »liberator« was kept in a glass case with five keys in the Portuguese church of Nossa Senhora da Lapa from the mid-1830s.
The other remains also rested in Portugal for a long time.
They were brought to São Paulo in 1972 during the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964-1985) on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of independence and buried there at the Independence Monument.
The Brazilian Empire collapsed in a coup in 1889.
According to the AP news agency, right-wing extremist Bolsonaro is trying to use the ceremony to strengthen his support in the nationalist camp.
Critics complain that Bolsonaro also wants to exploit the anniversary of independence on September 7 for himself.
Bolsonaro wants to campaign intensively around the day.
Political commentators fear riots could break out.
fek/dpa/Reuters/AP
