Chaos struck the Brazilian capital on Sunday as supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attacked the country’s Congress by climbing on its roof and smashing its window panes.
Other protesters were gathering in front of the presidential palace and the Supreme Court, although it was not immediately clear if they managed to enter the buildings.
The incidents, reminiscent of the invasion of the US Capitol on January 6, came just a week after leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in on January 1.
Lula da Silva gave a televised speech on Sunday authorizing federal intervention in the Federal District until the end of January.
He also tweeted his remarks, calling those who attacked Congress «fascists,» according to the translated version of the tweets.
“Whoever did this will be found and punished. Democracy guarantees the right to free expression, but it also requires that people respect institutions,» the president tweeted. “There is no precedent in the history of the country for what they did today. That’s why they should be punished.»
The president accused the mob of taking advantage of the quiet Sunday while his administration was still in transition to government. So he pointed directly at Bolsonaro.
«And they know that there are several speeches by the former president encouraging this,» Lula da Silva said. «And this is also the responsibility of him and the parties that supported him.»
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., tweeted about the chaos in Brazil’s capital on Sunday, drawing an explicit comparison to supporters of former President Donald Trump.
«The world’s democracies must act quickly to make it clear that there will be no support for right-wing insurgents storming the Brazilian Congress,» Raskin wrote. «These fascists modeled after Trump’s January 6 rioters need to end up in the same place: prison.»
the president of mexico andres manuel lopez obrador tweeted his support for Brazil’s new regime on Sundaycalling the event a «coup attempt».
“The coup attempt by the conservatives in Brazil encouraged by the leadership of the oligarchic power, its spokesmen and fanatics, is reprehensible and undemocratic,” he wrote. «Lula is not alone, he has the support of the progressive forces of her country, of Mexico, of the American continent and of the world.»
Bolsonaro supporters have been protesting Lula’s electoral victory since October 30, blocking roads, burning vehicles and gathering in front of military buildings, calling for the intervention of the armed forces.
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal rejected allegations of electoral fraud by Bolsonaro and his party in November. The magistrate who handed down the sentence, Alexandre de Moraes, described the judicial presentation as a litigation in bad faith.