Photo: EVARISTO SA / AFP / Getty Images
The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, promised to harshly punish the people who invaded the Planalto Palace and other state institutions in Brasilia this Sunday.
Lula decreed federal intervention in the capital after thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro massively broke into areas of the National Congress, the Supreme Court and the Planalto Palacewhere there were clashes between protesters and the authorities.
The president held an emergency press conference in Araraquara, Sao Paulo, where he was visiting to assess areas damaged by recent floods.
I affirm that “there is no precedent in history of our country” of the events of Sunday in Brasilia.
“And so these people should be punished“, declared Lula, moments before announcing the decree.
President of Brazil Lula Da Silva @LulaOficial decreed the intervention of the Federal District of #Brasilia in the face of the fascist acts of followers of @jairbolsonaro#IntegracionLatinoamericana#ไบเบิ้ลบิว #poupettekenzapic.twitter.com/eHT9J7u7fD
— Alejandra Castillo 🇻🇪 (@alejabolivarian) January 8, 2023
“Nazis and Fascists”
“Let’s even find out who are the ones who finance these vandals that they went to Brasilia and everyone will pay with the force of the law for this irresponsible act, this anti-democratic act and this act of vandals and fascists”, he stated.
Lula called the invaders “Nazis and Fascists” who represent “everything that is abominable” in politics, vowing to find all those involved in order to bring them to justice.
“Democracy guarantees the right to freedom, to free expression, but it also demands that people respect institutions that were created to strengthen democracy,” he said.
Lula also criticized the police, which he accused of not having acted forcefully when the Bolsonaristas invaded the institutions.
“The police did nothing at all. They just let the protesters in,” she said.
“There was bad faith, ill will. The police officers who participated in this cannot go unpunished.”
The federal intervention decree in the Federal District is limited to the field of public security and will be in force until January 31 of 2023.
The president appointed the secretary general of the Ministry of Justice, Ricardo García Capelli, as controller, who will assume control of the entire Security area in the capital until the 31st.
The facts
The group of Bolsonaristas, concentrated in front of the Army Headquarters, moved to the Esplanada dos Ministérios on Sunday afternoon.
The images broadcast by Brazilian television networks show hundreds of people on the ramps that give access to Congress and the Planalto Palace and around the Supreme Court building.
Many of them climbed to the roof of the Congress building, while another part of the group enteredeither to the Green Room and the Senate.
The images show broken windows and people with Brazilian flags and other insignia inside the building.
They also show members of the group inside the office of the Presidency of the Republic, in the Planalto Palace and in the plenary session of the Supreme Court.
About 17:00 local time (20:00 GMT) security guards managed to retake the Supreme Court building and expel the invaders, according to helicopter images transmitted by GloboNews.
On the outskirts of Congress, police officers tried to stop the group’s advance with tear gas, which led to clashes between authorities and Bolsonaro supporters.
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