World leaders have condemned Sunday’s unrest in Brazil where supporters of former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro stormed key government sites
Thousands of protesters ransacked the Congress building – with some breaking into the Senate chamber – as well as the presidential palace, and Supreme Court in Brasilia
Hundreds of people have been arrested and the governor of Brasilia has been suspended for security failings
US President Joe Biden has described the violence as “outrageous” while UK PM Rishi Sunak has denounced it as an attack on democracy
Bolsonaro, who lost the presidential election to left-wing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in October, tweeted to condemn the “invasions of public buildings”
His supporters are refusing to accept he lost the election and have been calling for military intervention and Lula’s resignation
Lula, who is on an official trip to Sao Paulo state, called Sunday’s rioters “fanatic fascists” and vowed to punish them. The capital’s distinctive National Congress building is the legislative third of the Three Powers Plaza in Brasilia.
Protesters also stormed the other two branches in the plaza – known as the Planalto Palace (presidential office) and the Supreme Court.
Photos show the extent of the damage in these three buildings – various window panels have been broken, furniture has been overturned and debris is noticeably scattered on the ground.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been to all three branches of Brazil’s government to inspect the damage following the violent invasion. US President Joe Biden said: “I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined.”
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French President Emmanuel Macron said the will of the Brazilian and the country’s democratic instructions must be respected, adding his government offers President Lula France’s unconditional support.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that “respecting the democratic will of the people is paramount in any democracy”, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the destruction as an “attack on democracy that cannot be tolerated”.
“China closely follows and firmly opposes the violent attack”, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, throwing Beijing’s support behind “measures taken by the Brazilian government to calm the situation, restore social order and safeguard national stability”.