President Lula realizes the extent of the damage after the remake of the events of January 6, 2021 in Brasilia
The Brazilian president returned to Brasilia Lula da Silva, following the coup attempt by around 3,000 Bolsonaro supporters.
Lula da Silva rushed to the presidential palace to assess the damage after supporters of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro invaded, who from Florida, where he is, condemned, although not too strongly, the attack, which was reminiscent of the one on the Capitol in Washington before since two years.
With one difference: at least so far, no deaths have been reported.
Escalation in #Brazil as protesters fire on government planes with improvised anti-aircraft guns. As you can see these home built weapons are very inaccurate which poses a danger to other civilians. pic.twitter.com/7F6r7ryEKc
— Mr JMeZZ 🇧🇷🇺🇦 (@MrJmezz) January 8, 2023
Lula, who was yesterday afternoon in Aracuara, in the state of São Paulo (southeast), which was hit by floods, went in turn to the presidential palace and then to the Supreme Court, where Bolsonaros also stormed and wreaked havoc, as well as in Congress.
Footage broadcast by Globo television network late at night showed him talking to members of the Supreme Court in front of the building with broken windows after an invasion by those who still reject his return to power, a week after taking up his third term.
THE Zach Bolsonaro he remains in the US, which he left two days before Lula’s inauguration, refusing to hand over to him who narrowly beat him on October 30, who he never congratulated.
“Peaceful, law-abiding demonstrations are part of democracy. However, looting and breaking into public buildings (…) are against the norm,” the former president said via Twitter.
In another post, he dismissed the centre-left successor’s “unproven accusations”.
Lula complained that the far-right former head of state’s “speech” had “encouraged” “fascist vandals” to storm the presidential palace, the Supreme Court and Congress.
Earlier, in a speech in the state of Sao Paulo, he accused Bolsonaro of “encouraging” “fanatic fascist vandals” to invade the seats of the three powers in Brasilia.
Lula da Silva called the invasion “barbarism” and warned that all those involved “will be found and punished”.
He also promised that the authorities will also find the financiers of the Bolsonaros.
Leaving tips for the attitude of the police, the Brazilian president estimated that there was a “security gap” in the city.
Brazil’s president has also declared a “federal intervention” until January 31, meaning security forces, which are usually controlled by state and local authorities, are being brought under federal command.
Facing a major crisis just a week after starting his new term, after two consecutive previous ones (2003-2010), the president condemned the events “unprecedented in the history of Brazil”.
“We will find them all and they will be punished,” he stressed, referring to those responsible for the looting and destruction. “We will also find those who financed them,” he added.
The head of state placed local law enforcement agencies under the command of federal forces to restore security in Brasilia, where police were unable to contain an onslaught of thousands of Bolsonaros.
The Minister of Justice and Public Security of the government of Flavio Dino said late yesterday during a press conference that control of the seats of the three powers had been fully regained and added that more than 200 people had been arrested.
The governor of the federal department spoke of over 400 arrests.
“They will not succeed in destroying democracy”, he pledged, characterizing the invasions as “terrorism” by those who want a “coup”.
“unacceptable”
The governor of the federal department of Brasilia, Ibanez Rosa, an ally of former President Bolsonaro, apologized via video to President Lula. He described the perpetrators of the widespread destruction of public buildings as “true vandals” and “true terrorists”.
“We were watching all the movements with the minister (of Justice and Public Security) Dinos (…) At no time did we think that these demonstrations would reach such proportions”, he added.
Alexander G. Morais, Judge of the Supreme Court, ordered that Governor Rosa be suspended for 90 days, because of the errors and omissions in the security measures that allowed the invasion of the seats of the three powers. He also ordered encampments outside military bases set up by supporters of Mr. Bolsonaro, demanding that the armed forces stage a coup, disband within 24 hours, remove roadblocks and end building occupations. It also ordered social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Tik Tok to suspend until further notice user accounts that spread anti-democratic propaganda.
In addition to the governor of the federal department, other allies of the former president condemned the violent incidents, notably Valdemar da Costa Neto, the president of Mr. Bolsonaro’s Partido Liberal (PL), who spoke of “a sad day for the brazilian nation’ and ‘shame’.
The invasions and disasters caused a wave of indignant reactions at the international level. The American president described the incidents as outrageous Joe Biden. “The use of force to launch attacks against democratic institutions is always unacceptable,” his government’s foreign minister, Anthony Blinken, said on Twitter.
French President Emmanuel Macron assured Lula that he could “count on the unfailing support” of Paris.
Appalled by the acts of violence and the illegal occupation of Brasilia’s government district by violent extremists, he said he was EU High Representative Josep Borrell.
Escalation in #Brazil as protesters fire on government planes with improvised anti-aircraft guns. As you can see these home built weapons are very inaccurate which poses a danger to other civilians. pic.twitter.com/7F6r7ryEKc
— Mr JMeZZ 🇧🇷🇺🇦 (@MrJmezz) January 8, 2023
The Brazilian branch of Amnesty International, for its part, called for a “quick and impartial investigation” into the events, which were reminiscent of the January 6, 2021 invasion of former US President Donald Trump’s supporters at the federal Capitol, after his defeat by Joe Biden in the November 2020 election.
Big damage
The center of the three powers in Brasilia was plunged into chaos. Although the area was cordoned off by the authorities, the Bolsonaros managed to break through the security zones.
Police tried, in vain, to repel them with extensive use of tear gas. Video shows protesters knocking down a police officer on horseback and beating him with batons.
A local journalists’ union reported that at least five journalists were attacked. Among them was an AFP photojournalist, who was beaten by protesters who stole his material.
The damage is extensive in the three huge buildings, jewels of modern architecture full of works of art. Paintings of incalculable value were damaged.
“We have to restore order after these fraudulent elections,” said Sara Lima, a 27-year-old civil engineer and a supporter of Mr Bolsonaro, who traveled to the capital from Goianezia, 300km away.
Bolsonaro supporters have been demonstrating outside barracks, demanding that the armed forces intervene, after the far-right former head of state was defeated on October 30.
The president of the Brazilian Senate, Jodrigu Pacheco, condemned “the anti-democratic actions” that unfolded yesterday, judging that they must be punished with “all the rigor provided by the law”.
The history of the attack
The Planalto Palace, considered an architectural jewel by the late Oscar Niemeyer and home to .@LulaOfficialis being destroyed by deranged Bolsonaro followers, mockingly known in #Brazil as “Bolsominions” pic.twitter.com/s9HZtnLM6S
— Robert Valencia (@rvalentwit) January 8, 2023
Holding Brazilian flags and wearing clothes in the colors of the Brazilian flag, more than 3,000 supporters of Bolsonaro, who do not recognize Lula da Silva’s victory in the presidential election, stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court in the capital, Brasilia, causing extensive damage
The police initially tried to repel them using tear gas, but were unsuccessful.
A little later, according to what was reported by Brazilian media, the security forces managed to put the government buildings back under their control.
According to Brazil’s Minister of Justice, more than 200 arrests have been made, while the Supreme Court ordered the removal of the governor of Brasilia, who apologized for not being able to protect the city from the violent invasion.
Reports that the police are shooting with real bullets instead of rubber bullets.#Brazil #BrazilianSpring #BrazilianProtests pic.twitter.com/zIt9woYrrE
— filipe SDV (@FilipeBrito9) January 8, 2023
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