Vowing to protect democracy, Brazilian authorities prepared a punishment Monday after thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress, the federal court and the presidential palace and vandalized the country’s main seats of power.
Protesters on Sunday called for military intervention to restore far-right Bolsonaro to power or oust newly installed leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, amid scenes of chaos and destruction linked to the January 6, 2021 uprising in the Remember United States Capitol.
Rioters dressed in the green and yellow colors of the national flag smashed windows, toppled furniture and knocked down computers and printers. They pierced a huge painting by Emiliano Di Cavalcanti in five points, toppled the U-shaped table where federal court judges meet, ripped down the door of a judge’s office and destroyed an iconic statue in front of the court. The interiors of the monumental buildings remained in a state of ruin.
At a news conference on Sunday night, the Institutional Relations Minister said buildings would be inspected for evidence such as fingerprints and pictures to hold people accountable, noting that rioters appear to be planning similar actions across the country.
Justice Minister Flávio Dino said the acts were terrorism and a coup threat and that authorities had begun to identify the people who paid for the buses that took the protesters to the capital.
“They will not succeed in destroying Brazilian democracy. We have to say it firmly, with all determination and conviction,” said Dino. “We will not accept the path of crime to fight political battles in Brazil. A criminal is treated like a criminal.
So far, 1,200 people have been arrested, the Justice Department said on Monday. Police were remarkably slow to respond, even after more than 100 buses arrived, leading many to question whether the authorities simply ignored numerous warnings, underestimated the strength of the protesters, or were in some way complicit.
In the months following Bolsonaro’s October 30 election defeat, Brazil was nervous and wary of the path the outgoing president might take to stay in power.
Bolsonaro fueled the belief among his most loyal supporters that the electronic voting system was susceptible to fraud, although he never presented any evidence. And his son, Rep. Eduardo Bolsonaro, has met several times with former US President Donald Trump, longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon and his campaign adviser Jason Miller.
The results of Brazil’s elections – the closest in three decades – were quickly recognized by politicians across the political spectrum, including some Bolsonaro allies and dozens of governments. And Bolsonaro surprised almost everyone by disappearing from view. He neither admitted defeat nor denounced fraud, although he and his party petitioned for millions of votes to be annulled, a petition that was promptly dismissed.
Brazilians have been using electronic voting since 1996. Voting security experts consider it a less secure system than handwritten ballots because they leave no verifiable paper record. However, the Brazilian system is closely watched by the authorities and international observers who have never found evidence of manipulation to commit fraud.
Nevertheless, Bolsonaro supporters rejected the results. They blocked roads and encamped in front of military buildings, urging the armed forces to intervene. The protests have been largely peaceful, although isolated terrorist threats – such as a bomb found in a fuel truck en route to Brasilia Airport – have raised security concerns.
Two days before Lula’s inauguration, on January 1, Bolsonaro flew to the United States and temporarily settled in Orlando. Many Brazilians expressed their relief that even if he refused to take part in the transfer of power, his absence meant that it passed without incident. At least that’s how it was until Sunday.
“Bolsonarianism mimics the same strategies as Trumpism. Our January 8th, an unprecedented demonstration in Brazilian politics, is clearly copied from January 6th in the Capitol,” said Paulo Calmon, professor of political science at the University of Brasilia.
US President Joe Biden tweeted that the riots were an “attack on democracy and the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil” and said he looked forward to continuing to work with Lula.
At a Sao Paulo state press conference, Lula read out a decree recently signed by the federal government to take charge of security in the federal district. “Fascist fanatics” and anyone who funded their activities should be punished, he said. The President also accused Bolsonaro of pushing them to revolt.
Bolsonaro rejected the president’s accusation on Sunday evening. He tweeted that peaceful protest is part of democracy, but vandalism and invasions of public buildings are “exceptions to the norm.” He did not specifically mention the actions of the demonstrators in Brasilia.
“Obviously he’s the intellectual mentor of what’s happening, so he can’t distance himself from that,” said Mario Sérgio Lima, political analyst at Medley Advisors. “These groups were created by him, through the radicalism he imposed on politics. And there is no way to undo it (…) It seems that his group has already crossed the Rubicon”.
Unlike the 2021 attack in the United States, few officers worked in major government buildings on a Sunday. And videos of the event showed a limited presence of the capital’s military police. As a result, many in Brazil wondered if the police ignored the many warning signs, underestimated their abilities, or were in some way complicit.
A video showed a group of protesters moving through a police barricade after a small scuffle, with few officers using tear gas. In another, agents were seen standing while protesters stormed Congress, including one taking pictures with his cellphone.
“That was a serious mistake by the federal district government. It was a predicted tragedy,” said Thiago de Aragão, strategy director of Brazil-based policy consultancy Arko Advice. “Everyone knew that (the protesters) would come to Brasilia. The federal district government was expected to prepare a response to protect the capital. You didn’t do any of that.”
In his press conference, Lula denounced police “incompetence or bad faith” and vowed to punish some.
Federal District Governor Ibaneis Rocha confirmed on Twitter that he had fired the capital’s chief of public security, Anderson Torres.
Local media reported Torres was on vacation in Orlando and denied meeting Bolsonaro there.
“Two years after January 6, Trump’s legacy continues to poison our hemisphere,” tweeted US Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, adding that he accused Bolsonaro of instigating the actions in Brasilia. “Protecting democracy and holding malicious actors accountable are vital.”