Nfter attacking the congress building, radical supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also stormed the Palácio do Planalto government seat in the capital Brasília. Men with Brazilian flags walked through hallways and offices, as broadcast on TV Globo on Sunday. There it was already broadcast how they smashed the windows of the facade in the congress and penetrated into the entrance hall.
The Senate and the House of Representatives are located in the Congress building. Local media reported arrests in the evening. Congress was vacated. The military police used armored vehicles, and helicopters circled over the government district. By the evening, 30 people had been taken into custody, the news portal G1 reported, citing the Supreme Court.
Hundreds of demonstrators had previously entered the Parliament premises and climbed onto the roof of the building. Their number was estimated at around 3000. Police used pepper spray and stun grenades but were unable to stop supporters of former right-wing leader Bolsonaro.
Lula condemns storming
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not in Brasília at the time of the attack. He had traveled to the city of Araraquara in the state of São Paulo to find out about the consequences of the severe storms in the region. He condemned the attack; “All vandals will be found and punished,” said the head of state on Sunday. “We will also find out who funded it.” By decree, Lula ordered that the federal government assume responsibility for public safety in Brasília.
Lula went on to say that the protesters could be called Nazis and Fascists and that the left had never staged an episode similar to this one in Brazil. “You will see that democracy guarantees the right to liberty and freedom of expression, but also requires that people respect the institutions that have been created to strengthen democracy.”
Bolsonaro’s party also condemned the attacks. “Today is a sad day for the Brazilian nation. We cannot agree to the storming of the National Congress,” Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL) leader Valdemar Costa Neto said in a video. “All orderly demonstrations are legitimate. But chaos has never been a principle of our nation. We strongly condemn this behavior. The law must be enforced to strengthen our democracy.”
US President Biden is monitoring the situation closely
The US government has also condemned the attack. “The United States condemns any attempt to undermine democracy in Brazil,” US President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan wrote on Twitter on Sunday. President Biden is monitoring the situation closely. “Our support for Brazil’s democratic institutions is unwavering,” Sullivan said. Democracy in Brazil will not be shaken by violence.
Two years ago, the United States experienced something similar: on January 6, 2021, supporters of then President Donald Trump violently stormed the seat of parliament in Washington. Congress met there to formally confirm Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. Trump had previously incited his supporters in a speech that he had been deprived of a victory by massive election fraud. Five people died as a result of the riots.
