Brazil forces clear out pro-Bolsonaro camp as Lula condemns ‘terrorist acts’
Security forces loyal to Brazilian President Lula cleared out a camp of supporters of Jair Bolsonaro as the ex-president was rushed to a Florida hospital with ‘abdominal pain’.
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Brazilian security forces cleared protest camps and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned “acts of terrorism” after a mob stormed the seat of power in the capital, in chaotic scenes that triggered global shock.
Hundreds of soldiers and police mobilised to dismantle an improvised camp outside the army’s headquarters in Brasilia where some 3,000 supporters of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro had set up tents — used as a base for the sea of protesters who ran riot inside the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court for around four hours.
It comes as the ex-president was rushed to a hospital in Florida with “severe abdominal pain,” according to newspaper O Globo.
While details of the illness were not released, Bolsonaro has previously been hospitalised with gut blockages after being stabbed in 2018.
Troops clearing out the Bolsonaro camp as we speak pic.twitter.com/JaiUuPmlkS
— Tom Phillips (@tomphillipsin) January 9, 2023
Lula, who took office on January 1 after a bitterly divisive election win over Bolsonaro, meanwhile returned to work in the pillaged presidential palace, where the wreckage that remained of the previous day’s havoc: trashed artwork and offices, shattered windows and doors, broken glass strewn across the floor, and puddles of water left by the sprinkler system after rioters set fire to a rug.
Lula, the 77-year-old veteran leftist who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, joined the leaders of both houses of Congress and the chief justice of the Supreme Court in condemning what many called the South American country’s version of the Capitol riots in Washington two years ago.
“The three powers of the republic, the defenders of democracy and the constitution, reject the terrorist acts and criminal, coup-mongering vandalism that occurred,” they said in a joint statement.
Large contingents of riot police meanwhile deployed to lock down the capital’s Three Powers Square, home to the iconic modernist buildings that serve as the headquarters of the three branches of government.
Around 1,500 people were arrested at the pro-Bolsonaro protest camp, officials said.
Many Brasilia residents were still in shock as they returned to their normal workday routines.
“People have the right to express their opinions, but not destroy our national heritage,” 43-year-old resident Ionar Bispo said.
Condemnation continued to pour in from around the world, with Pope Francis criticising the unrest as a sign of “weakening of democracy” in the Americas.
In a joint statement ahead of summit talks in Mexico City, US President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the attacks and said they “stand with Brazil as it safeguards its democratic institutions.” Many drew the inevitable comparison to January 6, 2021, when supporters of then-US president Donald Trump invaded the Capitol in a violent, failed bid to stop Congress from certifying his election loss.
Spain’s foreign minister said the attacks in Brasilia bore “traces of Trumpism,” and echoed condemnation from the United Nations and European Union.
In a rare moment of unity with Western powers, even Russia joined in, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters, “we condemn in the strongest terms the actions of the instigators of the riots.” Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for the US state of Florida — where Trump resides — on the second-to-last day of his term, condemned “pillaging and invasions of public buildings” in a tweet Sunday night.
BRAZIL FORCES ARREST 170
Brazilian security forces gained back control of Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court on Sunday (local time) after a flood of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed the seat of power, unleashing chaos on the capital.
In scenes reminiscent of the January 6, 2021 invasion of the US Capitol building by supporters of then-president Donald Trump, initially overwhelmed security forces used tear gas, stun grenades and water cannon to fight back rioters who ran rampage through the halls of power in Brasilia until they were finally subdued.
Newly inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the veteran leftist who narrowly won Brazil’s bitter, divisive October elections, condemned the invasions as a “fascist” attack.
The far-right Mr Bolsonaro meanwhile condemned “pillaging and invasions of public buildings” in a tweet.
But the politician dubbed the “Tropical Trump” rejected President Lula’s claim he incited the attacks, and defended the right to “peaceful protests.”
Mr Lula, who was in the southeastern city of Araraquara visiting a region hit by severe floods, signed a decree declaring a federal intervention in Brasilia, giving his government special powers over the local police force to restore law and order in the capital.
“These fascist fanatics have done something never before seen in this country’s history,” said the veteran leftist, 77, who took office a week ago.
“We will find out who these vandals are, and they will be brought down with the full force of the law.”
The president then flew back to Brasilia to tour the ransacked buildings and oversee the response, Brazil’s TV Globo reported.
Police have made 170 arrests, media reports said.
TV images showed police ushering Bolsonaro supporters down the ramp from the Planalto presidential palace in single file – the same ramp Mr Lula climbed a week earlier at his inauguration.
The Senate security service said it had arrested 30 people in the chamber.
The chaos came after a sea of protesters dressed in military-style camouflage and the green and yellow of the flag flooded into Brasilia’s Three Powers Square, invading the floor of Congress, trashing the Supreme Court building and climbing the ramp to the Planalto.
Social media footage showed rioters breaking doors and windows to enter the Congress building, then streaming inside en masse, trashing politicians’ offices and using the sloped speaker’s dais on the Senate floor as a slide as they shouted insults directed at the absent politicians.
Protesters damaged artworks, historic objects and furniture and decorations as they ran riot through the buildings, according to Brazilian media reports.
One video showed a crowd outside pulling a policeman from his horse and beating him to the ground.
Police, who had established a security cordon around the square, fired tear gas in a bid to disperse the rioters – initially to no avail.
A journalists’ union said at least five reporters were attacked, including an AFP photographer who was beaten by protesters and had his equipment stolen.
Hard line Bolsonaro supporters have been protesting outside army bases calling for a military intervention to stop Lula from taking power since his election win.
Mr Lula’s government vowed to find and arrest those who planned and financed the attacks.
Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha fired the capital’s public security chief, Anderson Torres, who previously served as Mr Bolsonaro’s justice minister.
The lawyer general’s office said it had asked the Supreme Court to issue arrest warrants for Torres “and all other public officials responsible for acts and omissions” leading to the unrest.
It also asked the high court to authorise the use of “all public security forces” to take back federal buildings and disperse anti-government protests nationwide.
Protester Sarah Lima told AFP they were demanding a review of veteran leftist Lula’s October 30 run-off election win over Bolsonaro.
Lula, who took office Sunday, narrowly won the vote by a score of 50.9 per cent to 49.1 per cent. Bolsonaro, who left for the US state of Florida on the second-to-last day of his term, has alleged he is the victim of a conspiracy against him by Brazil’s electoral authorities.
He condemned the invasion by what he called “fascist fanatics”.
“We need to re-establish order after this fraudulent election,” said Lima, a 27-year-old production engineer wearing the yellow jersey of the Brazilian national football team – a symbol Bolsonaro backers have claimed as their own – and protesting with her young twin daughters.
“I’m here for history, for my daughters,” she added.
Newly-installed Justice and Public Security Minister Flavio Dino called the invasion “an absurd attempt to impose (the protesters’) will by force.”
“It will not prevail,” he wrote on Twitter.
“The (Brasilia) federal district government is sending reinforcements and the forces on the ground are acting at this time.”
Hard line Bolsonaro supporters have been protesting outside military bases in Brazil since his election loss, calling for an army intervention to keep Lula, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, from returning to power.
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Originally published as Brazil forces clear out pro-Bolsonaro camp as Lula condemns ‘terrorist acts’
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