Assault of Bolsonaro supporters. They attacked the most important institutions in the country

A mob of Bolsonaro supporters broke through the security cordons and attacked the buildings of Congress, the Supreme Court and the Planalto presidential palace.

Protesters broke windows, some of them burst into the Senate hall, where they jumped on seats and benches. They also demolished the premises of the Supreme Court:

After a few hours, local media reported that the security services had managed to regain control of all the attacked buildings.

Before 10 p.m. local time, the representative of the federal services Ibaneis Rocha said that “at least 400 people” were arrested as a result of the storming of the most important institutions in the country.

President Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was attacked in Sao Paulo state, announced that he was returning to the capital. He also held a specially organized videoconference with representatives of some ministries, including the minister of defense and the minister of justice.

He also stated that through his statements Bolsonaro encouraged the attack, inter alia, by questioning the integrity of the institution and the electoral process.

The president, who called the events in the capital “barbaric”, said anyone involved in the riots would be found and held accountable.

Lula also said he would allow federal security forces to intervene in the capital. This extraordinary measure is to be in force until January 31.

Earlier, the president said that adequate security measures were not provided in Brasília. Anderson Torres, Secretary for Security of the Federal District, minister in Bolsonaro’s government from March 2021 until the end of his term, was responsible for them. Torres, a staunch ally of the former president, was fired by the governor on Sunday.

– The military police of the federal state, unfortunately, did not fulfill their duties (…). This isn’t the first time this has happened on their part,” Lula said.

The president indicated that at the end of December he had seen reports of protests against his swearing-in, during which, as he said, the gendarmes “also behaved passively.” “These officers cannot go unpunished,” he added.

Lula was sworn in as president on January 1. His minimal victory (50.9 percent) was preceded by one of the most polarizing election campaigns in history. Not all of Jair Bolsonaro’s voters accepted the result – some of them, since the end of October, when the second round took place, camped out in front of the headquarters of the Brazilian military in the capital, initially hoping that the army would not allow Lula to be sworn in.

Camps of radical supporters of the former president have also grown in other parts of the country. How to deal with them from the beginning kept the new Brazilian administration awake at night. Justice Minister Flavio Dina has made himself known as a supporter of their removal by force, while Defense Minister Jose Mucio appealed for avoiding confrontation at all costs. On Monday, authorities began to dismantle an encampment in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais, which led to riots.

The events in Brasilia bring to mind attack on the Capitolcommitted by supporters two years ago Donald Trump. However, unlike the US, the Brazilian Congress is currently on hiatus and will not resume work until February.

Bolsonaro is in Florida, where he went before Lula’s inauguration, thus avoiding the traditional handover of the presidential sash to him.

The storming of the buildings of the most important institutions in the country met with a reaction from international leaders.

– I condemn the attack on democracy and the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. The country’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined. I look forward to working with President Lula Joe Biden.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken The US condemns the attacks on government buildings. Jaku Sullivan, the president’s security adviser, added that Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation and that support for Brazil’s democratic institutions was “unwavering.”

The president of France spoke in a similar tone Emmanuel Macron. He stressed that the will of the Brazilian people must be respected.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also assured Silva of his support for President Lula.