Brazil: Bolsonaro supporters breach security barriers and storm the Brazilian Congress and the presidential palace

CNN
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Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday breached security barriers set up by the armed forces and gained access to the main buildings of each of the three branches of government, including the Congress building, the Supreme Court and the Planalto presidential palace, according to photos. Appears in the Brazilian media.

Footage showed huge crowds in the capital of Brasilia walking down a ramp leading to the Congress building, where they reached the Green Hall, located outside the Chamber of Deputies of Congress, the interim president of the Senate, Veneziano Vital do Rojo, told CNN Brazil.

Other outlets showed Bolsonaro supporters entering the Supreme Court and the presidential palace, with CNN Brazil showing the arrival of riot police and Brazil’s armed forces. CNN Brasil reported that protesters were using furniture inside to build barricades to prevent police from entering.

breaches It comes about a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose return to power came after a 12-year hiatus after he defeated Bolsonaro in an October 30 runoff election.

Bolsonaro administration She previously said that she is cooperating with the transitionHowever, the far-right leader did not openly accept his loss in the elections, and left the country for the United States before Lula’s inauguration.

Bolsonaro supporters have camped out in the capital ever since. Justice Minister Flavio Dino had authorized the armed forces to set up barricades and guard the Congress building on Saturday due to the continued presence of Bolsonaro supporters.

Neither house of Congress is currently in session. And although President Lula is not currently in the building, a team assembled for the newly elected president was working inside the palace at the time the protesters entered, CNN Brasil reported. Officials at the Planalto Palace are waiting for the Air Force to evacuate them from the building, according to CNN Brasil.

Brazilian officials have condemned the actions of the protesters, reminiscent of January 6, 2021, when rioters stormed the US Capitol in an effort to prevent the certification of the 2020 election and President Joe Biden’s victory over former President Donald Trump.

“The National Convention has never denied those who want to demonstrate peacefully a voice. But it will not give way to disorder, destruction and vandalism,” Arthur Lyra, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Congress he said on Twitter. “Those responsible for promoting and abetting this attack on Brazilian democracy and its main symbols must be identified and punished in accordance with the law.”

Dino, who said he was at the Justice Ministry headquarters, condemned the actions of Bolsonaro supporters in a statement on Twitter, saying: “This vain attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail.”

The province’s federal security minister Anderson Torres – and former justice minister in Bolsonaro’s government – similarly called the scenes “unfortunate,” adding that he had ordered “immediate steps to restore order in central Brasília.”

Glysee Hoffman, the leader of the Labor Party, called the abuses “an open crime against democracy” and “against the will of the ballot box”.