One week after inaugurating Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president of Brazil, hundreds of anti-communist protestors invaded the Three Powers Square in Brasilia. They were destructive and clashed with the Military Police. At the time of the assault, the president was in the city of Araraquara, in the state of Sao Paulo, on an official visit.
After midday, followers of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently in Orlando, Florida, broke down the security fences of the Three Powers Plaza, a complex that houses the National Congress Palace, the Palace of the Supreme Federal Court and the Planalto Palace (workplace of the president). After getting past a few police officers, they stormed three buildings, breaking windows and destroying offices as they went. The Military Police tried to disperse the mob with stun grenades.
BRASIL: Miles de bolsonaristas irrumpen en el Congreso y el Supremo Tribunal Federal y la Policía Militar trata de dispersarlos con granas de aturdimiento. (Fuente: Folha de Sao Paulo).
— Voz Media (@VozMediaUSA) January 8, 2023
In a video published by Metropoles, the anti-Lula protestors can be seen being accompanied and guided by the police to the scene. Since the day after the runoff vote, when the leftist leader prevailed over Bolsonaro, there have been multiple protests condemning electoral fraud and socialism embodied by the new president.
Bolsonaristas a caminho da Esplanada: pic.twitter.com/BPORzo6isz
— Metrópoles (@Metropoles) January 8, 2023
"The security forces of the Federal District, in addition to the Legislative Police of the Congress, are committed to action. I vehemently repudiate these anti-democratic acts, which must be urgently submitted to the rigor of the law," wrote the president of the Federal Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, on his Twitter account. Since it was Sunday, the buildings in the Three Powers Plaza were empty.
Na ação, estão empenhadas as forças de segurança do Distrito Federal, alem da Polícia Legislativa do Congresso. Repudio veementemente esses atos antidemocráticos, que devem sofrer o rigor da lei com urgência.
— Rodrigo Pacheco (@rodrigopacheco) January 8, 2023
Flávio Dino, Minister of Justice and Public Security, declared: "This absurd attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail. The Federal District Government assures that there will be reinforcements. And the forces at our disposal are at work. I am at the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice.”
Essa absurda tentativa de impor a vontade pela força não vai prevalecer. O Governo do Distrito Federal afirma que haverá reforços. E as forças de que dispomos estão agindo. Estou na sede do Ministério da Justiça.
— Flávio Dino 🇧🇷 (@FlavioDino) January 8, 2023
Rogério Marinho, senator for Rio Grande do Norte, asked that the perpetrators of the attack be held accountable and that they not be linked to the Brazilians who did not vote for the Workers' Party and "remain within the law.”
Peaceful demonstrations such as those that have been taking place so far are welcome and are part of the democratic game. Violence is condemnable. The perpetrators of these invasions will achieve the opposite of what they intend.
Repudio os atos de vandalismo em Brasília. A democracia não admite a depredação e a barbárie. Essas ações terminam justificando o injustificável, ou seja, causarão o recrudescimento de medidas excepcionais que relativizam a constituição e atacam liberdades individuais.Segue👇
— Rogério Marinho (@rogeriosmarinho) January 8, 2023
Lula decreed the intervention of Brasilia
From Araraquara, Sao Paulo, the Brazilian president decreed the intervention of the security forces of Brasilia. He also assured that the "vandals" who entered the Three Powers Square will be "found" and "punished.”
Lula even suggested that the people who broke through the fences and entered the three buildings were financially motivated by someone else. "We are going to uncover the financiers," he said in his speech.
Lula se pronuncia sobre atos antidemocráticos https://t.co/yQxBzejADs
— Lula (@LulaOficial) January 8, 2023
Bolsonaro and PL disassociated themselves from protesters
Seven hours after the assault began, from Orlando, the former president posted a series of tweets to express his opinion about what happened. He assured that these types of social expression go against the Constitution and questioned the President for accusing him "without evidence.”
Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of law, are part of democracy. However, depredations and invasions of public buildings such as those that occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule.
He said that during his time in office, he was always "within the four lines of the Constitution, respecting and defending the laws.” He also said, "Furthermore, I repudiate the accusations, without evidence, attributed to me by the current President of the Executive of Brazil."
- Manifestações pacíficas, na forma da lei, fazem parte da democracia. Contudo, depredações e invasões de prédios públicos como ocorridos no dia de hoje, assim como os praticados pela esquerda em 2013 e 2017, fogem à regra.
— Jair M. Bolsonaro 2️⃣2️⃣ (@jairbolsonaro) January 9, 2023
In turn, the president of the Liberal Party (PL), Valdemar Costa Neto, dissociated himself from the protestors and said it was "a sad day" for the South American country. He also denied the "depredation of the Congress" and said that "disorder has never been part of the principles" of Brazil.
HOJE É UM DIA TRISTE PARA A NAÇÃO BRASILEIRA.
NÃO PODEMOS CONCORDAR COM A DEPREDAÇÃO DO CONGRESSO NACIONAL.
TODAS AS MANIFESTAÇÕES ORDEIRAS SÃO LEGÍTIMAS.
A DESORDEM NUNCA FEZ PARTE DOS PRINCÍPIOS DA NOSSA NAÇÃO. pic.twitter.com/5rUttHpSD8
— Partido Liberal - PL 22 (@plnacional_) January 8, 2023
