US redux in Brazil: Far-right rioters storm Congress, president palace, SC

Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country’s top government institutions on Sunday in an insurrection that tests the leadership of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva just a week after he took office.

Pro-Bolsonaro protesters ransacked congress and stormed other government offices before security forces were able to regain control of the capital. Security forces have regained control of the country’s political institutions and Brasilia governor Ibaneis Rocha said more than 400 people had been arrested as of Sunday evening. 

Protesters were draped in Brazilian flags and wearing 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 January 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.”  

Some rioters broke windows, furniture and carried out other acts of vandalism at government headquarters, while others took videos and selfies. Communications Minister Paulo Pimenta said several works of art were damaged.

Lula 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. 

President Joe Biden called the storming ‘outrageous’. On Twitter, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric characterized the attacks as “unprecedented,” while Colombia’s Gustavo Petro called on members of the Organization of American States to convene and apply the democratic charter.

The Brazilian real weakened roughly 1.1 per cent against the dollar in spot trading, while the country’s benchmark stock index Bovespa fell 0.5 per cent after trading up as much as 0.25 per cent earlier in the day.

More than a hundred buses of Bolsonaro supporters arrived in Brasilia ahead of the Sunday protests.

What led to riots

2022

Oct 30:  Lula beats Bolsonaro in a run-off vote. Bolsonaro supporters begin gathering for the first time outside military bases across Brazil, calling for a military intervention to prevent Lula from returning to office

Oct 30 and 31: Truckers who support Bolsonaro block roads across the country after his defeat

Nov 2: Bolsonaro supporters hold rallies across the country

Nov 22: Bolsonaro challenges the election results, arguing votes from some machines should be invalidated

Dec 29: At least four people are arrested by Brazilian police for an alleged coup attempt during riots by Bolsonaro supporters

2023

Jan 1:  Lula is sworn in as president for a third time, says that democracy is the true winner of the presidential election.

Jan 8:  Bolsonaro supporters invade Brazil presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court in Brasilia, in a grim echo of the US Capitol invasion two years ago