Calm gradually returned to Brazil on Monday after storming key government seats, prompting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to announce a federal security intervention in the capital, Brasilia, until the end of this month.
The Brazilian president inspected the presidential palace and the Supreme Court upon his return to Brasilia, after it was stormed Sunday night by supporters of former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, according to scenes broadcast by the ‘Globo’ channel.
The leftist president, who took office just a week ago, said in a speech in Sao Paulo state that his far-right predecessor had “encouraged fascist saboteurs” to storm the authorities’ headquarters in Brasilia.
Da Silva, in a speech, described President Bolsonaro’s supporters who stormed the country’s main power structures in Brasilia as fascists and fanatics and said they would be punished with the full force of law as would their backers. . The Brazilian president said several speeches by Bolsonaro had encouraged his supporters to storm, noting that Brasilia had seen security shortcomings.
Bolsonaro denies
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro recently rejected allegations made against him by his successor, Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro said in comments on his Twitter account that peaceful demonstrations are part of democracy, considering any assault or looting of public buildings an outrage.
Brazilian media reported that security forces had regained control of the congressional headquarters, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court after being stormed by thousands of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Hundreds of supporters of far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the headquarters of top Brazilian authorities on Sunday Brasiliathe Palazzo dei Congressi, the Court of Cassation and the Planalto presidential palace, causing a lot of damage, according to the photos circulating on social networks.
These demonstrators are protesting the return of leftist Iñácio Lula da Silva to the presidency of Brazil last week, after defeating Bolsonaro in the second round of the October 30 presidential election.
Authorities cordoned off the area around the parliament building in Brasilia, but hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters who refuse to accept Lula da Silva’s victory in the presidential election climbed the building and gathered on the roof, saw a AFP photographer.
Security forces used tear gas, but their efforts failed to disperse the protesters.
Bolsonaro, narrowly defeated by Lula in the second round of the October 30 presidential elections, left Brazil at the end of the year, bound for Florida, where Trump currently resides.
This comes a week after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was inaugurated as president of Brazil for the third time, after he was sworn in before Congress in the capital Brasilia.
A video obtained by Reuters from groups linked to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and footage from local stations showed Bolsonaro supporters storming a security forces barricade and storming ministries headquarters and the Congress building in Brasilia.
CNN Brasil reported that protesters also stormed a parking lot at the presidential palace in Planalto.
The images circulated showed the destruction of Bolsonaro supporters in Lula da Silva’s room in the presidential palace, as well as the destruction of parliamentarians’ offices, while protesters stood at the seats in the Senate.
In the context, some Bolsonaro supporters have called for military intervention to nullify the election results and oust Lula da Silva.
In turn, the Minister of Justice and Public Security Flavio Dino said that what he called a futile attempt will not prevail.
At least 150 Bolsonaro supporters have been arrested. And the images of “Cnn Brazil” showed his supporters, dressed in yellow and green, leaving the presidential palace in Planalto with their hands behind their backs, surrounded by police officers. Other photos show a bus full of arrested protesters leaving for a police station.
As night fell in the Brazilian capital, security forces appeared to gradually regain control of the situation and water cannons were used to drive away protesters.
Brazilian police evacuated the headquarters of the National Congress on Sunday, several hours after it was stormed.
international reactions
In the context of international reactions, the US president said that the situation in Brasilia is shameful. Washington has condemned any attempt to undermine democracy in Brazil, and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the country has condemned any attempt to undermine democracy in Brazil.
Paris, for its part, issued a statement expressing its condemnation of the practice of violence against the institutions of Brazilian democracy. French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his support for the president-elect and respect for the institutions.
As for the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, he expressed his absolute condemnation in a tweet for the assault on the headquarters of the main Brazilian authorities.
