Video | The assault on Brazil’s Congress
Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters forced their way into the parliament building demanding a military intervention to oust President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from power
Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace on Sunday, demanding a military intervention to overthrow President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was sworn into office one week ago.
The assault in Brasília recalls the assault on the US Capitol two years ago, when Donald Trump supporters stormed the building in an effort to stop lawmakers certifying the presidential election results. In this case, however, Brazil’s Congress was not in session.
Fears of such an assault had been building since the presidential election, which Bolsonaro lost by a narrow margin. Ahead of the vote, the far-right leader raised doubts about the country’s electronic voting system and electoral authorities, paving the way for his supporters false claims of voter fraud. Bolsonaro also encouraged protests against the results of the election. In his farewell speech, however, he did condemn the failed bomb attack in Brasília, which was orchestrated by one of his supporters in the hopes of disrupting the new president’s inauguration.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition
More information
Archived In
Most viewed
- Christian Louboutin: ‘Young people don’t want to be like their parents. And if their parents wear sneakers, they’re going to look for something else’
- Cartels in Mexico take a leap forward with narco-drones: ‘It is criminal groups that are leading the innovation race’
- ‘We are dying’: Cuba sinks into a health crisis amid medicine shortages and misdiagnosis
- If AI replaces workers, should it also pay taxes?
- A mountaineer, accused of manslaughter for the death of his partner during a climb: He silenced his phone and refused a helicopter rescue