Brazilian security forces seized control of Congress, the presidential palace and the supreme court on Sunday after a flood of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the seat of power, sparking chaos in the capital Brasilia.
In a scene reminiscent of the January 6, 2021 invasion of the US Capitol building by supporters of President Donald Trump, initially the security forces were overwhelmed using tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons to fight the rioters who fled the hall of power until they were equal. in the end they were subdued.
Newly installed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a veteran leftist who narrowly won Brazil’s bitter October election, condemned the invasion as a “fascist” attack.
Right-wing Bolsonaro has now condemned the “looting and invasion of public buildings” in a tweet. But the politician, dubbed “Tropical Trump”, rejected Lula’s claim that he had caused the attack, and defended the right to “peaceful protest”.
Lula, who is in the southeastern city of Araraquara, visited the area hit by heavy flooding, signed a decree declaring federal intervention, giving the government special powers to local police forces to restore law and order in the capital.
“These fascist fanatics have done something that has never been seen in the history of this country,” said the veteran leftist, who took office a week ago.
“We will find out who did this damage, and they will be brought down by the full force of the law.”
The president then flew back to Brasilia to explore the ransacked building and oversee the response, Brazil’s TV Globo reported.
Police have made 170 arrests, media reports said.
TV images showed police leading Bolsonaro supporters down the Planalto presidential palace in single file – the same ramp Lula climbed a week earlier during his inauguration.
The Senate security service said it had arrested 30 people in the chamber.
Brasilia’s security chief fired
The chaos erupted after a sea of protesters wearing military-style camouflage and green and yellow flags flooded into Brasilia’s Three Powers Square, stormed the Congress floor, vandalized the supreme court building and climbed the ramp to the Planalto.
Social media footage showed rioters breaking doors and windows to get into the Congress building, then going inside, trashing offices and using a sloped speaker on the Senate floor as a slide as they shouted insults at absent lawmakers.
Protesters destroyed works of art, historic objects and furniture and decorations as they ransacked the building, according to Brazilian media reports.
One video shows a crowd outside pulling a policeman off his horse and beating him to the ground.
The police, who had set up a security line around the square, fired tear gas to disperse the rioters, to no avail.
The journalists’ union said at least five journalists were attacked, including an AFP photographer who was beaten by protesters and had his equipment stolen.
Hardline supporters of Bolsonaro have been protesting outside an army base calling for military intervention to prevent Lula from taking power since winning the election.
Lula’s government vowed to find and arrest those who planned and financed the attack.
Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha fired the capital’s head of public security, Anderson Torres, who was previously Bolsonaro’s justice minister.
The attorney general’s office said it has asked the Supreme Court to issue an arrest warrant for Torres “and all other public officials responsible for the actions and omissions” leading to the unrest.
It also asked the high court to authorize the use of “all public security forces” to take federal buildings and disperse anti-government protests nationwide.
‘Fake election’
Demonstrator Sarah Lima said she was demanding a review of the “fake election”.
Lula narrowly won with a score of 50.9 percent to 49.1%. Bolsonaro, who traveled to the state of Florida on the second day until the end of his term, said he was the victim of a conspiracy by Brazil’s judiciary and electoral authorities.
“I’m here for history, for my children,” said Lima, wearing the yellow jersey of Brazil’s national soccer team, a symbol Bolsonaro’s supporters claim as his own, and protesting with his young twin daughters.
Fellow protester Rogerio Souza Marcos said the election had been marred by “many signs of fraud and corruption”.
The newly installed Minister of Justice and Public Security Flavio Dino called the invasion an “absurd attempt to impose. [the protesters’] will be by force”.
“Will not win,” he wrote on Twitter.
There was swift international condemnation of the protesters.
The United Nations said it “strongly condemned” the attack.
US President Joe Biden slammed the scene as “shocking”, European Council President Charles Michel tweeted “absolute condemnation” and French President Emmanuel Macron called for respect for Brazilian institutions and sent Lula “unwavering French support.”
Even Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the riots.
A raft of Latin American leaders joined in, with Chilean President Gabriel Boric denouncing a “cowardly and despicable attack on democracy” and Mexico’s Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador calling it a “reprehensible coup attempt”. — AFP