Brazil: Bolsonaro supporters storm Congress and presidential offices in siege

Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s ousted former president, Jair Bolsonaro, have stormed Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices to protest what they falsely claim was a stolen election.

In a violent culmination of years of conspiracy theories advanced by far-rightist Bolsonaro and his allies, his supporters on Sunday stormed the ‘Three Powers’ plaza in Brasilia, in scenes reminiscent of the 6 January 2022 storming of the United States Capitol.

Draped in the yellow and green of Brazil’s flag, the riotors set fire in the seat of power, used the barricades as weapons, and knocked off police officers from horseback, filming their crimes as they committed them.

“We always said we would not give up,” one protester declared as he filmed himself among hundreds of protesters pushing into the Capitol building. “Congress is ours. We are in power.”

At least 200 people have been arrested.

For months, protesters had been demanding that the military prevent the newly elected president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from taking office on 1 January. Many on the right in Brazil have become convinced, despite the lack of evidence, that October’s election was rigged.

Bolsonari has been advancing false claims, without any proof, that Brazil’s election systems were rife with fraud and that the nation’s elites were conspiring to remove him from power.

Lula said Sunday that those false claims had fuelled the attack: Bolsonaro “triggered this,” he said in an address to the nation. “He spurred attacks on the three powers whenever he could. This is also his responsibility.”

Bolsonaro criticised the protests, saying on Twitter that peaceful demonstrations are part of democracy, but that “destruction and invasions of public buildings, like what occurred today,” are not. But he also rejected Lula’s accusations, saying they were “without proof.”

Hundreds of protesters ascended a ramp to the roof of the congressional building in Brasília, the capital, while a smaller group invaded the building from a lower level, according to witnesses and videos of the scene posted on social media.

Other groups of protesters splintered off and broke into the presidential offices and the Supreme Court, which are in the same plaza.

They broke windows, overturned furniture and looted items inside, according to videos they posted online.

Lula, who was not in Brasília during the invasion, issued an emergency decree until 31 January that allows the federal government to take “any measures necessary” to restore order in the capital. “There is no precedent for what these people have done, and for that, these people must be punished,” he said.

Bolsonaro appeared to be in Florida, where he planned to stay in Florida for one to three months.