Brazil: Anti-Riot Protests as Lula Slams Far-Right “Terrorism”

By Staff, Agencies

Thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators took to the streets of the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo to denounce the riots and storming of key government buildings by supporters of the ultra-right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Demonstrators carried signs with messages such as "Democracy forever", as well as banners reading "We are with Lula and for democracy" and "Respect for the people's vote."

Young people, labor union activists, and anti-racism advocates were among the protesters, who demanded stringent punishment for rioters.

On Sunday, Bolsonaro's rioting supporters ransacked the presidential palace, the Supreme Court and the Congress. The riots capped months of tension following the October 30 presidential vote that Bolsonaro lost to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Observers have compared the raids to the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol building by supporters of then-US president Donald Trump, a Bolsonaro ally, and have termed the situation as a serious episode of "political unrest."

Police arrested 300 over the attack on Sunday, while 1,200 others were detained on Monday as security forces dismantled an improvised camp of Bolsonaro's supporters outside the army's headquarters in Brasilia.

Lula denounced far-right "acts of terrorism" as he met the leaders of both houses of Congress and the head of the Supreme Court on Monday.

Brazilian police arrest hundreds of protesters and wrest back control of key governmental buildings after they were overrun by unruly supporters of the ultra-right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro.

“The three powers of the republic, the defenders of democracy and the constitution, reject the terrorist acts and criminal, coup-mongering vandalism that occurred,” they said in a joint statement, adding that they were taking legal measures.

He toured the wreckage of his presidential palace on Monday and ordered the federal government to take control of policing in the capital Brasília.

Lula on Sunday blamed Bolsonaro, who is now hospitalized in a hospital in the US, for instigating his supporters after a campaign of baseless allegations about the election result, vowing to bring those responsible for the "fascist" assault to justice.

Some US lawmakers condemned the rioting by far-right supporters of the Washington-backed former President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, after they stormed and vandalized government buildings Sunday.

The leftist president declared federal intervention in public security in the capital lasting until January 31.

He said the local militarized police force that reports to Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha, a former Bolsonaro ally, did nothing to stop the advance of the protesters.

Brazil Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes suspended Rocha from office security flaws that allowed the invasion of government buildings.