What we know so far
If you’re just joining us, here is where things stand in Brasília, where it is 8.30pm. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest from Brazil for the next while. If you have questions, comments or see news you think we may have missed, the best way to get in touch is on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
-
Supporters of Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday invaded the country’s Congress, presidential palace and supreme court, in a grim echo of the US Capitol invasion two years ago by fans of former President Donald Trump.
-
At about 6.30 pm local time, three hours after the initial reports of the invasion, security forces managed to retake the three buildings, Brazilian media reported. TV images showed dozens of rioters being led away in handcuffs.
-
Leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known widely as Lula announced a federal security intervention in Brasília lasting until 31 January after capital security forces initially were overwhelmed by the invaders. Lula defeated Bolsonaro in election run-offs last year.
-
In a press conference, Lula blamed Bolsonaro and complained about a lack of security in the capital, saying authorities had allowed “fascists” and “fanatics” to wreak havoc. “These vandals, who we could call … fanatical fascists, did what has never been done in the history of this country,” said Lula in a press conference during an official trip to São Paulo state. “All these people who did this will be found and they will be punished.”
-
Lula also blamed Bolsonaro for the attacks, saying “This genocidist … is encouraging this via social media from Miami,” referring to Bolsonaro. “Everybody knows there are various speeches of the ex-president encouraging this.”
-
Bolsonaro later rejected accusations against him by Lula and condemned the violence in Brasilia. In comments from his Twitter account, Bolsonaro also said that peaceful demonstrations were a part of democracy but that any invasion of public buildings crossed the line. The violence in Brasília could amplify legal risks Bolsonaro faces. It also presents a headache for US authorities as they debate how to handle his stay in Florida.
-
The governor of Brasília, Ibaneis Rocha, said that by 9pm, 400 people had been arrested in connection with the attacks. “We continue working to identify all the others who participated in these terrorist acts this afternoon in the Federal District. We continue to work to restore order,” he wrote on Twitter.
-
The sight of thousands of yellow-and-green clad protesters running riot in the capital capped months of tension after the 30 October vote. Bolsonaro, an acolyte of Trump’s who has yet to concede defeat, peddled the false claim that Brazil’s electronic voting system was prone to fraud, spawning a violent movement of election deniers.
-
US Democratic members of Congress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Joaquin Castro called for Bolsonaro’s extradition from the US. “The US must cease granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida,” Ocasio-Cortez said, as she compared the protests to the 6 January storming of the US Capitol, saying: “Nearly two years to the day the US Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist movements abroad attempt to do the same in Brazil.”
-
The supreme court, whose crusading Justice Alexandre de Moraes has been a thorn in the side of Bolsonaro and his supporters, was ransacked by the occupiers, according to social media images that showed protesters clubbing security cameras and shattering the windows of the modernist building.
-
Brasília Governor Ibaneis Rocha wrote on Twitter that he had fired his top security official, Anderson Torres, previously Bolsonaro’s justice minister. The solicitor general’s office said it had filed a request for Torres’ arrest.
Key events
Police revise number of arrested to 300
The Brazilian police force have just said that 300 people were arrested at Sunday’s protests – this is 100 fewer than the number given earlier by the governor of Brasília, Ibaneis Rocha.
“300 arrested. Investigations continue until the last member is identified,” the PCDF said on Twitter.
300 presos. As investigações seguem até que o último integrante seja identificado.
— PCDF – Polícia Civil (@pcdf_oficial) January 9, 2023
AFP points out that one of the differences between Sunday’s events in Brazil and the attack on the Capitol is that because the attack in Brazil was happening on a weekend, Congress wasn’t staffed, which made it easier for them to enter the building – but also, arguably, put fewer members of congress at risk.
AFP also spoke to some of the protesters:
“We patriots were robbed at the polls by Lula,” 49-year-old civil servant Isabella Silva told AFP among the throngs.
“I want the armed forces to take power and clean up Congress; do a general cleanup,” she said, echoing the demands of her fellow protesters.
The crowd was finally dispersed by police, but their demands stayed behind in messages painted on to the facade — including a call to the military for “Intervention now!”
Another read: “Destitution of the three powers,” referring to the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.
“We do not recognise this government because it is illegitimate,” said Victor Rodrigues who, like hundreds of other “bolsonaristas” have remained camped outside the army headquarters in Brasília since Bolsonaro’s defeat to demand an intervention.
Sarah Lima, a production engineer who traveled 300 kilometres (about 186 miles) to join the protesters with her 19-month-old twin girls, said she wanted a vote recount to confirm whether Lula’s victory “really was true or not.”
She and her daughters, like many others in the crowd, were dressed in the jersey of the Selecao national football team appropriated by Bolsonaro and his backers as a symbol of nationalist fervor.
Tom Phillips
Observers have spent months warning that Bolsonaro hardliners might stage a South American version of the US’s Capitol invasion in the hope of overturning Lula’s win. During his tumultuous four-year administration, Bolsonaro repeatedly hinted that a military takeover might be in the works and battled to undermine Brazil’s internationally respected electronic voting system.
“Bolsonaro and his team have looked very closely at what happened on January 6 trying to understand why it was that a sitting president failed in his effort to overturn election results,” the former US ambassador to Brazil, Thomas Shannon, told the Guardian before last year’s election.
The weeks leading up to Lula’s 1 January inauguration saw two clear signals of the violence that was to come.
On 13 December, radicals tried to storm the federal police headquarters in Brasília, torching buses and cars as they moved through the city. Just before Christmas another extremist Bolsonaro supporter was arrested and allegedly confessed to a plot to bomb Brasília’s airport in an attempt to spark turmoil that might justify a military coup.
Lula was visiting the flood-hit city of Araraquara in the south-eastern state of São Paulo when the attacks happened, according to AFP, but has flown back to Brasília to oversee the response to what he called the “fascist” attack by protesters calling for a military intervention to oust his government.
Brazil’s Metrópoles news organisation has released what it says is audio of the acting secretary of the State Secretariat for Public Security of the Federal District reassuring Brasília Governor Ibaneis Rocha one hour before the invasion that, “Everything is quiet, orderly and peaceful”:
Lula visits scenes of protests
Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is walking through the scenes of today’s violence, Brazilian media report.
Below is a picture of Lula at the supreme court, which was ransacked by pro-Bolsonaro protestors:
Protestors ransacked the Supreme Court on Sunday, according to images from social media, which showed protesters clubbing security cameras and shattering the windows of the modernist building. The court’s crusading Justice Alexandre de Moraes has been a thorn in the side of Bolsonaro and his supporters, Reuters reports.
Both Moraes and the court’s Chief Justice Rosa Weber have vowed punishment for the “terrorists”. The heads of both houses of Congress denounced the attacks publicly and moved up plans to fly back to the capital, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters.
Rocha, the Brasilia governor, said he had fired his top security official, Anderson Torres, previously Bolsonaro’s justice minister. The solicitor general’s office said it had filed a request for the arrest of Torres.
Torres told website UOL he was with his family on holiday in the United States and had not met with Bolsonaro. UOL reported he was in Orlando, where Bolsonaro is now staying.
“Vandalism and ransacking will be combatted with the rigor of the law,” Anderson tweeted on Sunday afternoon, adding he had directed police in the capital to restore order urgently.
On Saturday, with rumours of a confrontation brewing in Brasilia, Justice Minister Flávio Dino authorised the deployment of the National Public Security Force. On Sunday, he wrote on Twitter, “this absurd attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail.”
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has joined world leaders in condemning today’s attacks, saying, “I condemn today’s assault on Brazil’s democratic institutions. The will of the Brazilian people and the country’s institutions must be respected. I am confident that it will be so. Brazil is a great democratic country.”
I condemn today’s assault on Brazil’s democratic institutions.
The will of the Brazilian people and the country’s institutions must be respected.
I am confident that it will be so. Brazil is a great democratic country.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) January 8, 2023
Jonathan Yerushalmy
Joe Biden said the situation in Brazil was “outrageous” after supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro invaded the country’s congress, presidential palace and supreme court on Sunday, with some senior US lawmakers calling for the far-right figure to be extradited from the US.
Biden’s words of condemnation were echoed by world leaders across the globe, and by some of Brazil’s closest neighbours.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in a closely fought election last year, announced a federal security intervention in Brasília lasting until 31 January after capital security forces initially were overwhelmed by the invaders.
“I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined,” Biden said on Twitter.
Bolsonaro flew out of Brazil on the eve of Lula’s inauguration and is currently in Florida. Many in the US – and across the world – saw echoes of the US Capitol invasion of 2021 in the actions of the Bolsonaro supporters and called for the former president to be extradited:
Biden condemns ‘assault on democracy’
US president Joe Biden has spoken out further on the events in Brazil, saying he looks forward to continuing to work with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined,” Biden said on Twitter.
I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined. I look forward to continuing to work with @LulaOficial.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 8, 2023
Earlier on Sunday, Biden said the situation in Brazil was “outrageous.”
There has been near-universal condemnation for the attacks on Brazil’s democratic institutions from leaders across the globe.
Human Rights Watch has released a statement on today’s events in Brazil, calling them “acts of violence and vandalism [that] constitute an abhorrent attack on Brazil’s democratic institutions by people who are seeking to deny the right of Brazilians to vote for and elect the leaders of their choice, including by urging military intervention”.
The organisation blamed the attack on a “years-long campaign by former president Jair Bolsonaro and his allies to undermine democratic principles and spread baseless claims of electoral fraud”.
What we know so far
If you’re just joining us, here is where things stand in Brasília, where it is 8.30pm. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest from Brazil for the next while. If you have questions, comments or see news you think we may have missed, the best way to get in touch is on Twitter @helenrsullivan.
-
Supporters of Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday invaded the country’s Congress, presidential palace and supreme court, in a grim echo of the US Capitol invasion two years ago by fans of former President Donald Trump.
-
At about 6.30 pm local time, three hours after the initial reports of the invasion, security forces managed to retake the three buildings, Brazilian media reported. TV images showed dozens of rioters being led away in handcuffs.
-
Leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known widely as Lula announced a federal security intervention in Brasília lasting until 31 January after capital security forces initially were overwhelmed by the invaders. Lula defeated Bolsonaro in election run-offs last year.
-
In a press conference, Lula blamed Bolsonaro and complained about a lack of security in the capital, saying authorities had allowed “fascists” and “fanatics” to wreak havoc. “These vandals, who we could call … fanatical fascists, did what has never been done in the history of this country,” said Lula in a press conference during an official trip to São Paulo state. “All these people who did this will be found and they will be punished.”
-
Lula also blamed Bolsonaro for the attacks, saying “This genocidist … is encouraging this via social media from Miami,” referring to Bolsonaro. “Everybody knows there are various speeches of the ex-president encouraging this.”
-
Bolsonaro later rejected accusations against him by Lula and condemned the violence in Brasilia. In comments from his Twitter account, Bolsonaro also said that peaceful demonstrations were a part of democracy but that any invasion of public buildings crossed the line. The violence in Brasília could amplify legal risks Bolsonaro faces. It also presents a headache for US authorities as they debate how to handle his stay in Florida.
-
The governor of Brasília, Ibaneis Rocha, said that by 9pm, 400 people had been arrested in connection with the attacks. “We continue working to identify all the others who participated in these terrorist acts this afternoon in the Federal District. We continue to work to restore order,” he wrote on Twitter.
-
The sight of thousands of yellow-and-green clad protesters running riot in the capital capped months of tension after the 30 October vote. Bolsonaro, an acolyte of Trump’s who has yet to concede defeat, peddled the false claim that Brazil’s electronic voting system was prone to fraud, spawning a violent movement of election deniers.
-
US Democratic members of Congress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Joaquin Castro called for Bolsonaro’s extradition from the US. “The US must cease granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida,” Ocasio-Cortez said, as she compared the protests to the 6 January storming of the US Capitol, saying: “Nearly two years to the day the US Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist movements abroad attempt to do the same in Brazil.”
-
The supreme court, whose crusading Justice Alexandre de Moraes has been a thorn in the side of Bolsonaro and his supporters, was ransacked by the occupiers, according to social media images that showed protesters clubbing security cameras and shattering the windows of the modernist building.
-
Brasília Governor Ibaneis Rocha wrote on Twitter that he had fired his top security official, Anderson Torres, previously Bolsonaro’s justice minister. The solicitor general’s office said it had filed a request for Torres’ arrest.
Here is some more footage from Brasilia via the Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips:
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has just condemned today’s attacks saying:
“Respecting the democratic will of the people is paramount in any democracy – including Brazil. Canada strongly condemns the violent behaviour on display there today, and we reaffirm our support for President @LulaOficial and Brazil’s democratic institutions”.
Respecting the democratic will of the people is paramount in any democracy – including Brazil. Canada strongly condemns the violent behaviour on display there today, and we reaffirm our support for President @LulaOficial and Brazil’s democratic institutions.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 9, 2023
