Presidential Palace in Brazil is being searched
2023.01.09 03:44
Presidential Palace in Brazil is being searched
Budrigannews.com – On Sunday, supporters of Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro invaded and vandalized the country’s Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court. This was a grim resemblance to the fans of former President Donald Trump’s invasion of the U.S. Capitol two years earlier.
Despite the fact that there were no immediate reports of fatalities or injuries as a result of their rampage, the invaders left behind a trail of destruction by snatching ceremonial rooms from the Supreme Court and flooding parts of Congress with water from a sprinkler system.
The culmination of months of tension following the presidential election on Oct. 30 was the sight of thousands of protesters in yellow and green running amok in the capital.
The uprising, which lasted just over three hours, highlighted the country’s severe polarization, days after Bolsonaro was defeated in the election in October by leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Lula stated in a press conference while on an official visit to Sao Paulo state, “These vandals, who we could call… fanatical fascists, did what has never been done in the history of this country.” They will all be identified and punished for their actions.”
After capital security forces were initially overwhelmed by the invaders, Lula announced a federal security intervention in Brasilia that would last until January 31. He blamed Bolsonaro for inflaming his supporters after a campaign of baseless allegations about possible election fraud.
Allies of the president also questioned how public security forces in the capital, Brasilia, were so unprepared and easily overwhelmed by rioters who had planned to gather for weekend demonstrations for days on social media.
The false claim that Brazil’s electronic voting system was susceptible to fraud was promoted by Bolsonaro, a Trump ally who has yet to concede defeat, and it led to a violent group of election deniers.
Lula said, referring to Bolsonaro, who flew to Florida 48 hours before the end of his term and was not present at Lula’s inauguration, “This genocidist… is encouraging this via social media from Miami.” Everyone is aware that the former president has given a number of speeches urging this.
Before posting on Twitter that he “repudiates” Lula’s accusations against him, Bolsonaro, whose presidency was marked by divisive nationalist populism, was silent for nearly six hours about the chaos in Brasilia.
Since losing the election, the former president, who rarely speaks in public, also stated that peaceful demonstrations are a part of democracy, but that invading and causing damage to public buildings “crosses the line.”
The legal risks Bolsonaro faces could be made worse by the violence in Brasilia. It also causes problems for authorities in the United States as they consider how to handle his time in Florida. Bolsonaro could no longer be granted “refuge” in the United States, according to prominent Democratic lawmakers.
Frederick Wassef, the Bolsonaro family lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment.
By 6:30 p.m. local time (2130 GMT), security forces had retaken three of the most famous buildings in the capital.
After the security breaches on Sunday, longtime Bolsonaro ally Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha said on Twitter that more than 400 people had been arrested and that authorities were working to identify additional individuals.
The invasions were denounced by world leaders.
The occurrences were referred to as an “assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power” by U.S. President Joe Biden, who also stated that the democratic institutions of Brazil had the full support of the United States.
Industries in Brazil were on alert for a new round of unrest from Bolsonaro supporters, whose post-election highway blockades have halted grain shipments and meatpacking operations in recent months. These protests were far from the capital.
After threats against assets, including Brazil’s largest fuel plant, state-run oil company Petrobras increased security at its refineries.
In a statement, Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the business is officially known, stated that all of its assets and refineries are functioning normally.
Brazil’s financial markets, which have swung sharply in recent weeks on doubts about how Lula will reconcile big spending promises with stretched public finances, were warned by analysts that the unrest could increase volatility.
Images from social media showed protesters smashing the windows of the modernist building and clubbing security cameras at the Supreme Court, whose zealous Justice Alexandre de Moraes has been a thorn in the side of Bolsonaro and his supporters.
Moraes and Chief Justice Rosa Weber of the court both promised to punish the “terrorists” who had attacked the democratic institutions of the country. According to people familiar with the situation, the heads of both houses of Congress publicly condemned the attacks and increased their plans to fly back to the capital.
Rocha, the governor of Brasilia, claimed to have fired Anderson Torres, Bolsonaro’s former justice minister and his top security official. According to the solicitor general’s office, a request for Torres’ arrest has been made.
According to the website UOL, Torres had not met Bolsonaro while he was on vacation in the United States with his family. Bolsonaro is currently staying in Orlando, according to UOL.
The National Public Security Force was sent out on Saturday after Justice Minister Flávio Dino heard rumors of a fight in Brasilia. “This absurd attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail,” he wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
In an unsuccessful attempt to prevent congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, supporters of Trump attacked police, broke through barricades, and stormed the Capitol in 2021.
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Trump, who has announced a third run for president in 2024, has pressed his vice president, Mike Pence, not to certify the vote, and he continues to falsely assert that widespread fraud stole the 2020 election from him.
