Photo: Eraldo Peres/AP/Shutterstock
Nearly a week after the inauguration of new Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro breached security barriers and stormed government buildings such as the presidential palace, congress building and supreme court, according to multiple media reports.
Bolsonaro’s supporters were captured on video inside the congress building, appearing to destroy artwork, steal gifts from international delegations and setting up barricades with furniture to prevent Brazilian police from entering, perCNN.
The news network also reported that the congress building flooded when protesters tried to set fire to the carpet, triggering the sprinkler system.
An estimated 150 protesters have been arrested so far, perThe Guardian.
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Lula da Silva defeated far-right leader Bolsonaro in a run-off election in October and was inaugurated on Jan. 1. He returns to the role after a 12-year hiatus, having previously held the presidential office from 2003 to 2011.
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“Whoever did this will be found and punished,” President Lula da Silva tweeted, perNBC News. “Democracy guarantees the right to free expression, but it also requires people to respect institutions. There is no precedent in the history of the country for what they did today. For that, they must be punished.”
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U.S. PresidentJoe Biden— who faced a similar situation with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol following former PresidentDonald Trump’s loss —tweetedhis support for Lula da Silva.
“I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil,” he said. “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.”
source: people.com