This article originally ran on TVT News, a TV, radio, and print news outlet owned by the ABC Metalworkers’ Union and the São Paulo and Osasco Bank Tellers’ Union. It was translated by Panamerican Dispatch and can be read in its original Portuguese here.

Students and lawmakers are demanding a criminal investigation after the third fire in a week broke out at the Federal University of Pernambuco, following a series of anti-Bolsonaro protests. UFPE is not just a random university. Traditionally known as the best university in the Northeast, a region where the Workers’ Party has won every state in the 2018, 2022 and 2026 presidential elections, its alumni include prominent 19th-century abolitionists like Joaquim Nabuco, poets Castro Alves and Augusto dos Anjos, and one of the primary villains of the bolsonarista movement, the educator Paulo Freire. It’s these factors, along with the online threats made against students, that are causing many to suspect arson— Ed.

A fire broke out Wednesday night at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Department (Dine) at the Pernambuco Federal University (UFPE) in Recife. The building held laboratories and equipment, samples and data from scientific research projects.

Hours earlier, students had reported threats attributed to supporters of Flávio Bolsonaro, including messages that talked about “blowing up the department.” Federal deputies-elect Jones Manoel of the Socialism and Freedom Party and Ana Elisa of the Workers’ Party spoke out about the case and called for an investigation. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

The Dine building is part of the research and innovation structure at the Federal University of Pernambuco. The building is located in the university’s main campus on Recife’s West side.

According to the university, firefighters were called immediately. UFPE said the nature of the materials stored in the building contributed to how quickly the fire spread and caused extensive structural damage. No injuries were reported.

Dean Alfredo Gomes said the building housed important laboratories and research representing up to two decades of accumulated data. Preliminary estimates put the equipment housed in the building at about $19.4 million, though the actual losses will depend on a technical assessment.

Beyond the equipment, the fire may have destroyed samples and records from research carried out by undergraduate research students, master’s and doctoral candidates, and postdoctoral researchers. The full accounting of the damage is still underway.

UFPE is continuing other activities across campus, while the affected building remains sealed off for a structural and damage assessment.

Deputies-Elect Report Threats, Call for Investigation

Federal deputy-elect Jones Manoel was among the first to publicly report the sequence of events. In a social media post, he said students had received messages with explicit threats hours before the fire. “This sequence of events is extremely serious and needs to be urgently clarified. We are gathering more information and will ask the Federal Police and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office to open an immediate investigation into the case, given the possibility that the fire was deliberately set,” he wrote.

Federal deputy-elect Ana Elisa also spoke out about the episode. On her account on X she linked the fire to the climate of political violence the country is experiencing. “A research center at the Federal University of Pernambuco was set on fire one day after students held protests in support of Lula. THIS IS WHAT BRAZIL WILL LOOK LIKE IF FLÁVIO BOLSONARO WINS THE ELECTION!” she posted.

Reports of the threats were also picked up by news outlets and members of the academic community. UFPE’s Central Student Directorate sent a formal letter to the university administration demanding an investigation and transparency about the cause of the fire.

UFPE Fire: What We Know So Far

• What happened at UFPE: A major fire broke out at the Dine building, which housed pharmaceutical, computer science and genetics laboratories. The flames spread quickly because of materials stored on site. No injuries were reported.
• The fire hit key research areas: UFPE Dean Alfredo Gomes said nearly all the equipment was destroyed, with estimated losses of $19.4 million. Samples from research projects on cancer, obesity, COVID-19, ADHD and autism were destroyed, along with data from theses and dissertations.
• Deputies-elect report threats, call for investigation: Jones Manoel said students received messages with explicit threats against parts of UFPE just hours before the fire. Ana Elisa linked the episode to rising fascism in the country and demanded that those responsible be punished. Manoel said he plans to request an investigation from the Federal Police and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.

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