Brazil: Bolsonaro supporters invade the Congress, the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court
Brazilian police used tear gas canisters on Sunday to try to push back hundreds of supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro who gained access to Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court in Brasilia. A week after the inauguration of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
What happened ?
The area around the congress was cordoned off by the authorities, however Polsonrists who refuse to accept Lula’s election They managed to break the security cordon and dozens of them were able to climb the slope of this building with modern architecture to occupy the roof. The invasion caused massive damage, according to photos posted on social media.
These wonderful pictures, remind us Invasion of the United States Capitol, showing a real human tide flowing toward Congress. According to the videos, pro-Bolsonaro activists then smashed windows in order to gain access not only to the interior of Parliament, but also to the interior of the Planalto presidential palace.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva described these demonstrators as “fascist vandals” a few hours later and decreed “federal intervention” of the police to control the security of the capital. “We will find them all and they will all be punished,” said Lula of the Bolsonarians responsible for the looting of Lula, who was sworn in as president only a week ago.
How bad is it?
The Congress houses the House of Representatives and the Senate in the same building. The Federal Supreme Court is also nearby, Brazil’s highest judicial body. Videos posted on social networks show protesters destroying the building.
The police, looking completely exhausted, unsuccessfully tried to drive them away. It can be seen that the demonstrators dropped their horses, and then were forced to retreat and extricate themselves from the demonstrators. The damages appear to be great in these buildings, which are treasures of modern architecture and full of works of art. The protesters attacked the furniture as well as the walls and ceiling of the Federal Supreme Court.
Deputy Andre Janonis, who called these protesters “terrorists”, accused them on Twitter of stealing “computers, tables, chairs and even doors”.
Photojournalist from the Metropoles editorial staff He recounts being violently attacked by demonstrators. She found herself surrounded by dozens of people. “They gathered around me screaming and swearing. I tried to get out of there, but they punched me in the stomach and took my equipment while kicking me,” she explains from her media site.
More than a hundred people have been arrested
Faced with the size of the Bolsonarians’ horde, the sitting government announced that reinforcements would be sent. This futile attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail. The Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flavio Dino, said on Twitter, “The Government of the Federal District (Brasilia) will send reinforcements and the forces we have are working.”
On Saturday, Flavio Dino had authorized the deployment of agents from the National Force, a special police force that is sometimes sent to different states if law and order are threatened. Lula, 77, was absent from Brasilia on Sunday: he went to Araraquara, a city in the state of Sao Paulo (southeast). destroyed by floods at the end of the year.
Police and security at the Federal Supreme Court finally regained control of the building, and began evacuating the Brazilian Congress. At least 150 supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro were arrested on the spot, according to several media outlets. Images from CNN Brazil showed Bolsonarian soldiers in yellow and green uniforms descending in single file, hands behind their backs, down the slope of the presidential palace in Planalto, surrounded by police.
What are the motives of Bolsonaro’s supporters?
Since Lula’s election against Bolsonaro at the end of October, supporters of the former president have been rallying to denounce the fraudulent election. They demanded the army’s intervention to prevent Lula from returning to power for a third term, after the period from 2003 to 2010. “We have to restore order, after these fraudulent elections,” said the AFP journalist on the scene Sara Lima, a 27-year-old pro-Bolsonaro engineer from Goianesia, 300 km from Brasilia.
In the aftermath of Jair Bolsonaro’s defeat, His supporters blocked the roads In at least 11 states across the country. They had burned tires and vehicles parked in the middle of the road to stop traffic, before they were gradually dispersed by the police. Bolsonaro himself had called for opening the roads, but he indicated Support for “legitimate protests”. He encouraged his supporters to join the demonstrators gathered in front of the military buildings.
Jair Bolsonaro He left Brazil even before the end of his term to get to the United States. He never congratulated Lula on his election and avoided his installation.
“Unapologetic pop culture trailblazer. Freelance troublemaker. Food guru. Alcohol fanatic. Gamer. Explorer. Thinker.”