Brazil -Supporters of the former far-right President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday invaded the country’s Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court, in the grim aftershocks of the invasion of the US Capitol two years ago by fans of former President Donald Trump.
leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in the most intense election in a generation last year, has announced a federal security intervention in Brasilia that runs until January 31. He blamed Bolsonaro for the election. invaded and complained about the lack of security in the capital, saying it had let “fascists” and “fanatics” wreak havoc.
All rioters will be identified and punished, Lula said, while pledging to root out those who fund the movement. Lula is far from the capital, on a trip to the state of Sao Paulo.
The sight of thousands of yellow-and-green-shirted protesters running riotously in the capital dragged on tense months after the October 30 vote. Bolsonaro, a Trump aide who has yet to concede defeat , made the false claim that Brazil’s electronic voting system was prone to fraud, creating a violent movement of those who refused to vote.
The invasion posed an immediate problem for Lula, who took office on January 1 and pledged to unite a nation torn by Bolsonaro’s nationalist populism. Television images showed protesters storming the Supreme Court and Parliament, shouting slogans and smashing furniture. Local media estimated about 3,000 people took part.
Bolsonaro, who has barely spoken in public since losing the election, left Brazil for Florida 48 hours before the end of his duties and was absent from Lula’s inauguration.
The scenes of violence in Brasilia could amplify the legal risks for Bolsonaro, who has so far not commented on the invasions. The Bolsonaro family’s attorney, Frederick Wassef, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Supreme Court has been ransacked by occupiers, according to social media images showing protesters smashing windows of the modernist building.
A mounted policeman surrounded by screaming protesters armed with sticks knocks him off his horse.
Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha told Reuters all security forces had been deployed to confront the rioters. He later wrote on Twitter that he had fired his top security official, Anderson Torres, formerly Bolsonaro’s justice minister.
The US Embassy in Brasilia has warned US citizens to avoid the area until further notice.
“Violence has no place in a democracy,” Douglas Koneff, US Charge d’Affaires to Brasilia, wrote on Twitter. “We strongly condemn the attacks on the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary in Brasilia, which are also an attack on democracy. There is no justification for these acts. !”
On Saturday, amid rumors of a confrontation brewing, Attorney General Flavio Dino authorized the deployment of the National Public Security Force. On Sunday, he wrote on Twitter, “this absurd attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail.”
Latin American leaders were quick to condemn the scene.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on Twitter: “I stand in solidarity with Lula and the Brazilian people. “Fascism decided to stage a coup.”
Chilean President Gabriel Boric said Lula’s government has his full support “in the face of this cowardly and vile attack on democracy.”
In Washington in 2021, Trump supporters attacked police, broke barricades and stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to thwart congressional endorsement of the law. Joe Bidenwon the 2020 election.
Trump, who has announced his third presidential run in 2024, has pressured his vice president, Mike Pencedid not confirm the vote and he went on to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen by him through rampant fraud.
In Brasilia, there have been at least three accounts of protesters attacking journalists, according to the Brasilia journalists association, citing unconfirmed reports.
leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in the most intense election in a generation last year, has announced a federal security intervention in Brasilia that runs until January 31. He blamed Bolsonaro for the election. invaded and complained about the lack of security in the capital, saying it had let “fascists” and “fanatics” wreak havoc.
All rioters will be identified and punished, Lula said, while pledging to root out those who fund the movement. Lula is far from the capital, on a trip to the state of Sao Paulo.
The sight of thousands of yellow-and-green-shirted protesters running riotously in the capital dragged on tense months after the October 30 vote. Bolsonaro, a Trump aide who has yet to concede defeat , made the false claim that Brazil’s electronic voting system was prone to fraud, creating a violent movement of those who refused to vote.
The invasion posed an immediate problem for Lula, who took office on January 1 and pledged to unite a nation torn by Bolsonaro’s nationalist populism. Television images showed protesters storming the Supreme Court and Parliament, shouting slogans and smashing furniture. Local media estimated about 3,000 people took part.
Bolsonaro, who has barely spoken in public since losing the election, left Brazil for Florida 48 hours before the end of his duties and was absent from Lula’s inauguration.
The scenes of violence in Brasilia could amplify the legal risks for Bolsonaro, who has so far not commented on the invasions. The Bolsonaro family’s attorney, Frederick Wassef, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Supreme Court has been ransacked by occupiers, according to social media images showing protesters smashing windows of the modernist building.
A mounted policeman surrounded by screaming protesters armed with sticks knocks him off his horse.
Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha told Reuters all security forces had been deployed to confront the rioters. He later wrote on Twitter that he had fired his top security official, Anderson Torres, formerly Bolsonaro’s justice minister.
The US Embassy in Brasilia has warned US citizens to avoid the area until further notice.
“Violence has no place in a democracy,” Douglas Koneff, US Charge d’Affaires to Brasilia, wrote on Twitter. “We strongly condemn the attacks on the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary in Brasilia, which are also an attack on democracy. There is no justification for these acts. !”
On Saturday, amid rumors of a confrontation brewing, Attorney General Flavio Dino authorized the deployment of the National Public Security Force. On Sunday, he wrote on Twitter, “this absurd attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail.”
Latin American leaders were quick to condemn the scene.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on Twitter: “I stand in solidarity with Lula and the Brazilian people. “Fascism decided to stage a coup.”
Chilean President Gabriel Boric said Lula’s government has his full support “in the face of this cowardly and vile attack on democracy.”
In Washington in 2021, Trump supporters attacked police, broke barricades and stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to thwart congressional endorsement of the law. Joe Bidenwon the 2020 election.
Trump, who has announced his third presidential run in 2024, has pressured his vice president, Mike Pencedid not confirm the vote and he went on to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen by him through rampant fraud.
In Brasilia, there have been at least three accounts of protesters attacking journalists, according to the Brasilia journalists association, citing unconfirmed reports.
