"Terrorism" and an "attempted coup": this was the day in which Bolsonaro's followers tried to attack the democracy of Brazil

2023-01-09T11:42:58.336Z

Brazil experienced scenes of chaos this weekend carried out by followers of Bolsonaro who seized the headquarters of public power in Brasilia in a failed attempt to take political control of the country.  

Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro break into the Brazilian Congress 1:43

(CNN Spanish) --

Brazil experienced scenes of chaos this weekend on behalf of hundreds of thousands of followers of former President Jair Bolsonaro who managed to break into four buildings of public power in Brasilia, actions that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva described as an attempted coup.

The irruption, which is considered the worst attack against the country's institutions since the restoration of democracy four decades ago, began in the afternoon, when a group of hundreds of Bolsonaristas dressed in Brazilian flags managed to break through the established security barriers. by the armed forces and gained access to the Congress building in Brasilia, Brazil's capital, home to the country's Congress and Supreme Court buildings, and the presidential palace, which were stormed on Sunday.

Minutes later, when the situation was already chaotic, local media reported that by that time they had also gained access not only to Congress, but also to the Federal Supreme Court and the Planalto Presidential Palace, with several rebels walking through the buildings.

They are "fascists," said President Lula da Silva, who has been in office for just a week after a 12-year hiatus, condemning the attack.

"These people are everything abominable about politics...they invaded Congress like vandals, destroying everything in their path."

Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro break security barriers and break into the Brazilian Congress and the presidential palace

Analyst: Breaking into the Brazilian Congress was not accidental 5:59

Rioters built furniture barricades inside the Planalto Presidential Palace to prevent police from entering the building, and in a scene much like the Storming of the US Capitol two years ago, at the time, a protester sat at the desk of the president of the Brazilian Congress.

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They also broke windows, overturned furniture, destroyed works of art and stole the country's original 1988 Constitution. They also took weapons from a presidential security office, Reuters reported.

One of the protesters was seen on social networks with a photo of Bolsonaro saying that he was his "real hero".

Former President Bolsonaro, who was out of Brazil at the time, condemned the events in a brief message via Twitter.

"Peaceful demonstrations, within the law, are part of democracy. However, the 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," said the former president on Twitter.

Latin American governments describe protests in Brazil as "attacks on democracy", "fascism" and "coup attempt"

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Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro hold a demonstration on the Esplanada dos Ministerios in Brasilia this Sunday.

Brazilian police used tear gas to repel hundreds of the far-right former president's supporters after they stormed congressional grounds, a week after President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva took office, an AFP photographer witnessed.

(EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty Images)

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Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with police during a demonstration in front of the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, where some of the protesters are trying to enter the Planalto Presidential Palace on Sunday, CNN Brazil reported.

(EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty Images)

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The interim president of the Senate, Veneziano Vital do Rego, told CNN Brasil on Sunday that the protesters had arrived at the Green Room, located outside the chambers of the Lower House of Congress.

(EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty Images)

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President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is not currently in place and neither house of Congress is currently in session.

(EVARISTO SA/AFP via Getty Images)

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“This absurd attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail.

The Government of the Federal District says that there will be reinforcements.

And the forces at our disposal are working.

I am at the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice," the minister of that portfolio, Flavio Dino, said on Twitter.

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Security forces clash with Bolsonaro supporters as they invade the Planalto Presidential Palace in Brasilia.

"These people are everything that is abominable in politics, invading the seat of government, the seat of Congress and the seat of the Supreme Court like true vandals destroying everything in their path," said President Lula da Silva.