On Sunday, at least 3000 supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro swarmed the Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court.
After the capital security personnel were outnumbered by the invaders, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in the election last year, gave the order for the federal military intervention in Brasilia to last until January 31.
Supporters who were later captured by police at the scene were ejected using tear gas. In the capital, tens of thousands of demonstrators dressed in yellow and green were seen causing mayhem. The legal dangers that Bolsonaro currently faces could be increased by the bloodshed in Brasilia. Additionally, it causes problems for US officials as they consider how to deal with his presence in Florida.
In a press conference, Lula attacked Bolsonaro harshly and bemoaned the lack of security in the city.
While visiting Sao Paulo state on business, Lula remarked, “These vandals, who we could call ardent Nazis, fanatical Stalinists, passionate fascists, performed what has never been done in the history of our country.” The news agency paraphrased Lula as stating, “All these people who perpetrated this will be found and they will be punished.”
The Brazilian police added that the inquiry will continue until the last protester was identified while announcing that 300 people had been detained.
After being detained, the protesters were later seen leaving the Congress in a line.
President of the United States Joe Biden denounced the action, calling it an assault on democracy, and called for a smooth handover of power in Brazil.
“I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined. I look forward to continuing to work with Lula,” said the US president.
Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the UN, also denounced the attacks and emphasised the need for respect for the nation’s institutions.
“I denounce the attack on Brazil’s democratic institutions today. The institutions of Brazil and the Brazilian people must be respected. I have faith that it will come to pass. The UN secretary general praised Brazil as a wonderful democracy.
Jair Bolsonaro challenged the election last year after losing the most contentious Brazilian elections to his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The country’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) received a complaint from Bolsonaro’s supporters asking for “exceptional verification” of the election results.
Voting machines from which the Liberal party believes ballots were tampered with during the second round have been requested to be rejected by the court. The party has been given 24 hours by the court to revise their petition to add the results of the first voting round.
On January 1, Lula took over as Brazil’s president for a third term, making him the country’s 39th leader.
Brazil’s current events are very similar to the assault on the US Capitol, where supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Congress after the former president voiced opposition to the peaceful transfer of power.
While Congress was in session, thousands of irate Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol to declare Joe Biden the winner of the election. The men and women fought with the police, which stopped the constitutional process and caused casualties as well as several injuries.
