The heart of Pedro I, contained in a golden reliquary, arrived from Portugal on Monday by a Brazilian air force plane. He was taken to the ramp of the presidential palace in Brasilia on Tuesday afternoon — in accordance with procedures provided to visiting leaders on official state visits. President Jair Bolsonaro welcomed the reliquary as a cannon salute was fired in the Brazilian capital. Cabinet ministers and first lady Michelle Bolsonaro also attended a quick ceremony in honor of Brazil’s 200th anniversary. Brazilians will be able to see the reliquary in a Foreign Ministry building. Pedro I declared Brazil’s independence in 1822, and imperial rule lasted until 1889, when the monarchy gave way to a republic. Pedro I died 187 years ago and, according to his will, his heart was taken to the Portuguese city of Porto, where it is kept in a glass jar with formaldehyde in the Church of Our Lady of Lapa. He is known in Portugal as Pedro IV. Lawmaker Luiz Philippe de Orleans e Bragança, a member of Brazil’s former royal family and a staunch supporter of Bolsonaro, said the idea to bring the emperor’s heart came from one of the president’s informal advisers. “We have lost a bit of our reference to the founders of Brazil, what they stood for, what they believed, what they hoped for Brazil. It’s very important to bring some of that back,” Braganza said in an interview with Jovem Pan radio station on Monday. Bringing the heart to Brazil “was a demand from a part of our society that wants a historical redemption.” Brazil’s struggle for independence was unlike the bloody affairs of other Latin American nations. While there was some fighting, it was mostly resolved through the mediation of other nations and the payment of reparations by Brazil to Portugal. The European nation finally recognized the state of Brazil in 1825. Some Brazilians seeking to honor the monarchy’s legacy have allied themselves with Bolsonaro, who is running for re-election. His critics said bringing the heart of Pedro I to Brazil represented a nod to such people and was an example of the president playing politics with the bicentennial. He has repeatedly called on his supporters to flood the streets for Independence Day on September 7, and political analysts have expressed concern about possible violence. “The arrival of the heart of Peter I in Brazil will be an opportunity for the Brazilian people to pay tribute to a central figure of the Brazilian independence process,” Brazil’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The statement said the heart will be returned to Portugal on September 8. The government did not disclose how much the heart transplant cost the public coffers.
