supporters of former brazil president jair bolsonaro Who refused to accept his electoral defeat, stormed the Congress, the Supreme Court and the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the capital on Sunday, just a week after the inauguration of his Left rival. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,
Thousands of protesters bypassed security barricades, climbed onto rooftops, smashed windows and stormed the three buildings, which were thought to be largely empty and sit on Brasilia’s sprawling Three Powers Square.
Some of them called for military intervention to either restore far-right Bolsonaro to power, or remove Lula from the presidency.
At a news conference from São Paulo state, Lula said Bolsonaro had encouraged an insurgency by what he called “fascist fanatics”, and he signed a fresh deal for the federal government to take control of security in the Federal District. Read the decree.
Read also: opinion | Bolsonaro’s legacy will take time to undo
Lula said, “There is no precedent for what they did, and these people must be punished.”
TV channel Globo News showed protesters dressed in the green and yellow colors of the national flag, which have become a symbol of the country’s conservative movement, and were adopted by Bolsonaro’s supporters.
The former president has repeatedly argued with Supreme Court justices, and the room where he held meetings was ransacked by rioters. They hurled fireballs inside the Congress building and vandalized offices in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The glasses of all the buildings were broken.
Security forces acting as supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil. , Photo Credit: Reuters
Bolsonaro, who flew to Florida ahead of Lula’s inauguration, has not commented on Sunday’s events.
Police fired tear gas to try to regain control of the buildings. At around 6:30 pm local time (4:30 pm EST), less than four hours after the storm, security forces were shown on television supporting the protesters away from the Supreme Court and escorting them to the presidential palace shown marching up a ramp. behind his back.
But with the damage already done, many in Brazil were questioning how police ignored copious warnings, were unprepared or somehow complicit.
Lula said at his news conference that there was “incompetence or malice” on the part of the police, and that they were complacent in the same way that Bolsonaro supporters rioted in the capital weeks earlier. He promised that those officers would be punished and fired from the Corps.
vary from 2021 attack in AmericaIt seems some officials in the Brazilian Congress and Supreme Court were at work on Sunday.
Biden calls Brazil’s pro-Bolsonaro violence ‘outrageous’
US President Joe Biden told reporters that the riots in Brazil were “outrageous”. His national security adviser Jake Sullivan went a step further, saying on Twitter that the US “condemns any attempt to undermine democracy in Brazil,” adding that US support for the country’s “democratic institutions is unwavering.” “
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley tweeted: “Violent attempts to undermine democracy in Brazil are unjustified. President @LulaOficial and the Government of Brazil have the full support of the UK.”
Earlier videos on social media showed a limited presence of the capital’s military police; One showed officials standing by as Congress flooded, one using his phone to record the images. The capital’s security secretariat did not respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment about the police absence.
“The Brazilian authorities had two years to learn their lessons from the capitol invasion and prepare themselves for something similar in Brazil,” said Mauricio Santoro, professor of political science at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. “Local security forces in Brasília failed in a systematic way to prevent and respond to extremist actions in the city. And new federal officials, such as the ministers of justice and defense, were not able to act decisively.
Federal District Governor Ibanes Rocha confirmed on Twitter that he had fired Anderson Torres, the capital city’s public safety chief. Local media reported that Torres is currently in the US
Lula’s attorney general’s office asked the Supreme Court to order Torres’ imprisonment.
Supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro are pictured atop the dome of the National Congress during a demonstration against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in Brasilia. , Photo Credit: Reuters
Bolsonaro supporters have been protesting Lula’s election victory since 30 October, blocking roads, setting vehicles on fire and gathering outside military buildings, urging the armed forces to intervene. The head of Brazil’s electoral authority rejected a request by Bolsonaro and his political party to cancel ballots cast on most electronic voting machines.
US Sen. Bob Menendez, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tweeted, “Two years since January 6, Trump’s legacy is poisoning our hemisphere.” “It is necessary to protect democracy and hold malicious actors to account.”