Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro invaded the presidential palace and congress in an attempt to test the resolve of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva days after he assumed office.
The protesters pillaged and plundered congress and ransacked other government offices before security forces regained control of the capital. About 170 people have been arrested and detained so far.
The supporters wore Brazilian flags and the yellow national jersey associated with conservative politics when they flooded into congress, the presidential palace and the supreme court in an event similar to the Jan. 6, 2021 invasion of the US Capitol.
“There’s no precedent for this in the history of our country,” Lula said in televised comments. “We’re going to find out who the financial backers are.”
Communications Minister Paulo Pimenta said several art works were damaged.
The president called the protesters “true vandals” and announced a federal intervention to bring security under control. He vowed to prosecute the rioters and investigate the financial backers of the protests.
“I vehemently repudiate these anti-democratic acts, which must urgently undergo the rigor of the law,” Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said on Twitter.
US President Joe Biden called the storming “outrageous,” while leaders across Latin America quickly pledged solidarity with Lula.
“Democracy is the only political system that guarantees freedoms and obliges us to respect the popular verdict,” Argentina President Alberto Fernandez wrote on Twitter.
State-controlled oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA is monitoring security at its refineries to make sure it isn’t exposed to protests, Jean Paul Prates, the incoming chief executive officer, stated.
Robert Muggah, the co-founder of the Igarape Institute, a think tank in Rio de Janeiro, labelled the riots the most significant threat to the nation’s democracy since the 1964 coup, and that it will be celebrated by many members of Brazil’s far right.
“They will treat this as a rallying call for future disruptions,” Muggah said. “Today’s violent insurrection is a reminder that democracy can never be taken for granted.”
The estranged Bolsonaro did not accept the results of the elections and rather elected to go on vacation in Orlando, Florida, instead of attending the inauguration.
Christian Lynch, a political scientist at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said Sunday’s events will do irreversible damage to Bolsonaro’s movement, and that the response from all branches of government will be swift and unforgiving.
“It will crush the legitimacy of the far right,” he said. “The system will bring an end to any tolerance for these people.”
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