Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited the ransacked presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court on Sunday after police retook control of the nation’s halls of power from riotous pro-Bolsonaro mobs.
His predecessor took to Twitter to condemn the ‘pillaging and invasions of public buildings’ shortly after his supporters stormed the Brazilian Congress, the presidential palace and Supreme Court complex in Brasília.
Bolsonaro rejected his successor President Lula’s accusation that he was responsible for the riots in Brasília. He called the accusations baseless but said Brazilians have the right to peacefully protest.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was visiting flood-hit regions in the city of Araraquara in the southeastern state of Sao Paulo when the attacks occurred.
He flew back to Brasília to oversee the response to what he termed as a ‘fascist’ attack by protesters demanding military intervention to oust his democratically-elected government.
Hours after the riots broke out, Brazilian security forces took control of the Congress. Bolsonaro supporters wreaked havoc in Brasilia and security forces resorted to using tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons to subdue them.
The scenes were reminiscent of the January 6, 2021 invasion of the US Capitol building by supporters of then-president Donald Trump. The police have arrested 170 people for rioting.
“These fascist fanatics have done something never before seen in this country’s history. We will find out who these vandals are, and they will be brought down with the full force of the law,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
“These fascist fanatics have done something never before seen in this country’s history. We will find out who these vandals are, and they will be brought down with the full force of the law,” President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
Lula said that Bolsonaro was sitting in Miami in the United States and instigating his supporters to unseat the government. He said that the firebrand far-right president on several occasions earlier made speeches that encourage forcibly unseating the democratically elected government.
Pro-Bolsonaro supporters broke doors, ransacked the presidential palace, trashed office and then entered the halls inside carrying on with their pillaging. They also slid down the sloped speaker’s dais on the Senate floor, using it as a slide, while hurling insults directed at absent lawmakers, news agencies reported citing Brazilian news media outlets.
(with inputs from AFP)
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