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At least 400 people have been arrested for violently storming the Presidential Palace, Congress and the Supreme Court in Brasilia. The governor of the capital, an ally of Bolsonaro, has been suspended from office

Coup assault in Brazil: international community condemns the events and Bolsonaro denies responsibility

Brazil's congressional president calls for "urgent" punishment of radicals

Brazilian democracy resists Bolsonarism's coup attack

PHOTO/FILE - Thousands of supporters of the former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, violently assaulted the headquarters of Congress, the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court in Brasilia
Margarita Arredondas
Updated: 09/01/23

The assault on the US Capitol in early 2021 highlighted the danger that populist leaders pose to democracy. Former President Donald Trump's rejection of the November 2020 election results - which he called a fraud - encouraged thousands to occupy Congress shortly afterwards.

The current situation in Brazil is quite reminiscent of this event as both coup assaults share several similarities. The main one: the great threat to democracy when a populist ex-president does not accept the election results and, through public statements, delegitimises the elected government.

This past Sunday, thousands of supporters of the former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, violently assaulted the headquarters of Congress, the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court in Brasilia, causing numerous destructions inside the institutions, just as Trump's followers did on 6 January 2021 in Washington. The pro-Bolsonaro mob remained for hours in the Plaza de los Tres Poderes in the face of the incompetence of the capital's authorities. For this reason, the governor of Brasilia, Ibeneis Rocha - Bolsonaro's ally - has been removed from his post. 

"They invaded the three buildings and destroyed many things and, sadly, who should have done something at the federal level was the Military Police of the Federal District, who did nothing," said Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who at the time of the assault was in the state of Sao Paolo visiting flood victims. Lula da Silva has accused the capital's authorities of "incompetence" and "ill will", claiming that the military police themselves showed the protesters the way to the Plaza de los Tres Poderes. 

The Brazilian president has described the assailants as "fascist hooligans" and decreed a state of federal intervention in Brasilia to restore order and law. Lula da Silva promised that those responsible for the "barbarity" would be found and "punished". At least 400 people have been arrested so far, according to the authorities in the capital.

Lula da Silva has also stressed that the mob that sought a military intervention to return Bolsonaro to power was "stimulated" by the former president himself. According to Lula da Silva, the former president was to blame for this "terrorist action". 

Bolsonaro, for his part, has disassociated himself from the events, rejecting the "unproven" accusations attributed by Lula da Silva. The former president, who is currently in the United States, said on Twitter that during his term in office he "always" complied with the Constitution, "respecting and defending the laws, democracy, transparency and sacred freedom". He also comapred this assault with demonstrations organised by the left during his government.

International community backs Lula da Silva and condemns the assault

The rest of the South American countries have thrown their weight behind the Brazilian government. From Argentina to Venezuela, the region's presidents have rejected the events, expressing their full support for Lula da Silva. Chilean leader Gabriel Boric called the event as a "cowardly and vile attack on democracy", while his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro called for a meeting of the OAS (Organisation of American States). "All my solidarity to Lula Da Silva and the people of Brazil. Fascism has decided to carry out a coup", Petro stressed. 

The rest of the American continent has also echoed what has happened, backing the Brazilian executive. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called the assault "an anti-democratic coup attempt" by the "conservatives of Brazil". However, the Mexican leader stressed that Lula Da Silva "is not alone", since "he has the support of the progressive forces of his country, of Mexico, of the American continent and of the world".

US President Joe Biden has condemned "the assault on democracy" and expressed "full support" for Brazil's democratic institutions, as has his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau. "Respecting the democratic will of the people is paramount in any democracy", he said. 

On the other side of the Atlantic, a similar tone is maintained. Charles Michel, president of the EU's European Council, has expressed his support to Lula da Silva, "democratically elected by millions of Brazilians through free and fair elections". On the other hand, the leader of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wanted to stress that the assault is a "great concern for all defenders of democracy". Like Michel, she recalled that Lula da Silva was "freely and fairly elected".

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, described the assailants as "violent extremists", assuring that Brazilian democracy "will prevail over violence and extremism".

Other European leaders such as France's Emmanuel Macron, Spain's Pedro Sánchez and Italy's Giorgia Meloni have condemned the coup attack perpetrated by Bolsonaro's followers. International powers such as China and India have also expressed their support to Lula da Silva.

Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra

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