Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country’s top government institution on Sunday in an uprising that tested the leadership of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva just a week after taking office.
Pro-Bolsonaro protesters stormed the congress and stormed other government offices before security forces could take control of the capital. By late Sunday, authorities had cleared them from government buildings and regained control of Brasilia’s main square. About 170 people have been detained so far.
Demonstrators draped in Brazilian flags and wearing yellow national jerseys associated with conservative politics flooded congress, the presidential palace and the supreme court in an event similar to the invasion of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“There is no precedent in the history of our country,” Lula said in televised remarks. “We will find out who is supporting us financially.”
Some rioters broke windows, furniture and committed other acts of vandalism at the government headquarters, while others took videos and selfies. Communications Minister Paulo Pimenta said some artworks were damaged.
Lula, who is not in the palace, called the protesters “true destroyers” and announced federal intervention to control security. He vowed to prosecute the rioters and investigate the financial backers of the protests.
“I strongly reject this anti-democratic act, which must be done immediately,” Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said on Twitter.
President Joe Biden called the storm “outrageous,” while leaders in Latin America were quick to pledge solidarity with Lula. On Twitter, Chilean President Gabriel Boric described the attack as “unprecedented,” while Colombia’s Gustavo Petro called on members of the Organization of American States to come together and adopt a democratic charter.
“Democracy is the only political system that guarantees freedom and obligates us to respect the popular verdict,” Argentine President Alberto Fernandez wrote on Twitter.
Sunday’s riots followed months of protests in front of military installations by Bolsonaro supporters demanding intervention to prevent Lula from returning to power. In late December there was a bomb scare near Brasilia airport. More than a hundred buses of Bolsonaro supporters arrived in Brasilia ahead of Sunday’s protest.
State-controlled oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA is monitoring security at its refineries to ensure there are no protests, Jean Paul Prates, the incoming chief executive, said on Sunday.
Gleisi Hoffmann, president of the ruling Labor Party, criticized authorities in the capital for failing to prevent civil unrest. Lula said police who failed to confront the protesters would be prosecuted.
Robert Muggah, founder of the Igarape Institute, a think tank in Rio de Janeiro, called the unrest the most important threat to Brazilian democracy since the 1964 coup, and would be celebrated by many members of Brazil’s far-right.
“They will see this as a rallying call for future disruptions,” Muggah said. “Today’s violent insurgency is a reminder that democracy does not work.”
Bolsonaro himself never accepted his defeat in the October election and vacationed in Orlando, Florida, instead of attending Lula’s inauguration.
Christian Lynch, a political scientist at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said that Sunday’s events will damage Bolsonaro’s movement irrevocably, and that the response from all branches of government will be swift and unforgiving.
“This will undermine the legitimacy of the right,” he said. “The system will end its tolerance for these people.”
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