Brazil: Bolsonaro supporters storm government quarters

What happened?

Around 3,000 radicalized supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro, who was voted out of office, stormed the control center of Latin America’s largest democracy in Brasilia on Sunday afternoon from 3 p.m. (local time). The protesters – many of them with the national flag or in the jersey of the Brazilian national team – first formed a protest procession. Then they invaded the buildings of the three branches of government, designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer. They are arranged around the central square in the capital.

First they stormed Congress. The crowd then attacked the presidential palace across the street before another group marched into the nearby Supreme Court building.

The protesters were able to act largely undisturbed for around three hours and left a trail of destruction in their wake: they knocked over chairs and desks, smashed windows and damaged computers. They also demolished works of art and daubed slogans on the walls. They are also said to have stolen weapons.

Where were the police?

The authorities had known for days that Bolsonaro supporters were planning a protest in the capital. Despite this, only a few police forces from the capital’s Brasilia district were on site to protect the buildings.

The new Minister of Justice in the Lula government, Flávio Dino, had ordered the deployment of soldiers from the National Força Nacional Task Force to protect the buildings on January 7th, 8th and 9th. According to media reports, however, only around 100 soldiers from the troops were on site.

When the demonstrators stormed the Congress, the police seemed completely taken by surprise. Few police officers resisted. According to media reports, the police used tear gas and pepper spray against the attackers. However, according to eyewitness accounts, many police officers did not intervene and instead filmed the attack on their mobile phones.

It was only when President Lula withdrew responsibility for the security apparatus from the government of the capital district on Sunday afternoon that the police acted quickly and were able to protect the buildings from the early evening. The military police advanced with cavalry squadrons, armored vehicles and helicopters. Around 230 suspects were arrested. The central government in Brasilia is now in charge until January 31st. The capital’s security chief, Anderson Torres, who previously served as Bolsonaro’s justice minister, has been fired.

Were there any signs?

For months, political observers had feared that the scenes of the storming of the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021 could be repeated if right-wing populist Jair Bolsonaro was defeated in Brazil. Bolsonaro supporters, who have called Lula’s election victory fake without any solid evidence, have been calling for a military coup to remove the president from office since the election results were announced. In November, numerous of his supporters demonstrated in front of military barracks and blocked main traffic arteries. Since then, around a thousand of them have camped out in front of the armed forces’ headquarters in a kind of vigil. On Sunday, around 4,000 more were carted up in buses.

Brazil is deeply divided: 49 percent of voters voted for Bolsonaro last year. Unlike in Europe, Lula is viewed critically in his homeland by broad sections of the population, partly because of his involvement in numerous corruption scandals. Radical preachers of evangelical free churches, conspiracy theorists and gun enthusiasts continue to pour oil on the fire.

How did Bolsonaro react?

Jair Bolsonaro withdrew completely from the public after the election defeat. He left Brazil on December 30, just a few days before the official handover. It is believed that he left the country so as not to be held responsible for any excesses by his followers.

Bolsonaro spoke up on Twitter on Sunday. “Looting and entering public buildings, as happened today,” violates the “rules” for “peaceful demonstrations,” he wrote on Sunday evening. However, he himself defends himself against the “unproven allegations” of the current President Lula da Silva, according to which he “encouraged” the attackers.

Peaceful demonstrations are part of democracy, Bolsonaro said. “Looting and raids on public buildings, as they took place today, but also during left-wing protests in 2013 and 2017, are not included,” Bolsonaro said.

What does President Lula say?

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was in the southeastern city of Araraquara, which was devastated by floods in 2022, criticized the attack as “unprecedented in Brazilian history”. The donors behind the protests would pay for the “irresponsible and undemocratic acts”. He called the attackers “fascist vandals”.

Lula arrived in Brasilia late Sunday evening and inspected the damage to the buildings. “The putschists who promoted the destruction of public property in Brasilia have been identified and will be punished,” Lula wrote on Twitter on Monday night.

What role do the military play?

In the army, support for ex-Captain Bolsonaro remains strong. This is also shown by the fact that the rioters gathered again in front of the garrison of the army high command in Brasilia after the riots. They obviously enjoy the solidarity of the military. When the police tried to storm the Bolsonaro supporters’ camp, hundreds of military personnel and armored vehicles got between the security forces and the rioters to protect them.

It was not until Monday that security forces finally cleared the camp in front of the high command and temporarily arrested over a thousand Bolsonaro supporters. The Supreme Court had previously ordered the camp to be evacuated within 24 hours.

It is obvious that high-ranking military officials, some of whom were former Bolsonaro ministers, openly endorsed and possibly even supported the protests. Reserve General Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro’s former head of the presidential office and his candidate for vice president in the fall, was still cheering on the protesters via Instagram a few days ago.

The role of the army is crucial for further development in Brazil. It cannot be ruled out that the conflict with the military will expand.
More on that: The problem in Brazil is the security forces.

Was the storming of the Capitol the model?

On January 6, 2021, radical supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in Washington. They caused extensive destruction and threatened slogans such as “Hang Mike Pence”.

The parallels in the acts of violence are hardly a coincidence. As soon as the Capitol was stormed, Bolsonaro said something like this could also happen in Brazil. During the election campaign, he later threatened again with conditions like those in Washington. Bolsonaro has repeatedly claimed the country’s electronic voting system is vulnerable to fraud.

Shortly before the official handover on New Year’s Day, Bolsonaro surprisingly left the country. He has been in Florida ever since like Donald Trump. The two met for dinner a few days ago.

Other parallels are obvious: the preparations for the violent actions and the hesitant intervention of the security forces, who were either taken by surprise or deliberately held back.
More on that: Following Trump’s example: The storming of government buildings in Brazil brings back memories of January 6, 2021.

What’s next?

The day after the unprecedented attack, the government, Congress and the judiciary were in rare unity. “The state authorities of the Republic condemn these terrorist and criminal actions,” said a joint statement. “We call on the population to remain calm in order to defend peace and democracy in our fatherland.”

The shock of attacking Brasilia is deep, but Lula could also see the attack as an opportunity. With their outbreak of violence, Bolsonaro’s radical supporters exposed themselves as anti-democrats, and political Brasilia moved closer together. Former supporters of the right-wing head of state, such as the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, also condemned the attack.