What’s happening in the capital of Brazil: Who tried to take over the seat of government and why?

The situation is under control now. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a tweet, raised concerns about the events, and said “Democratic traditions must be respected by everyone.”

Who are the people who rioted in Brasilia?

They are supporters of the far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro, who lost last year’s presidential election narrowly to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro had long claimed that Brazil’s election system was rotten with fraud, and that the entrenched elite was plotting to remove him from power.

He had been quiet since being edged out by Lula in the runoff election on October 31, but his supporters, who are convinced that a cabal of the “establishment”, elites, and the media had “stolen” the election, have been growing increasingly restive.

Bolsonaro’s supporters had demanded that the Brazilian military step in and prevent President Lula from assuming charge of the country on January 1. Between the announcement of Lula’s victory and now, they had clashed several times with police, set official vehicles on fire, and protested violently. After Lula was inaugurated, they carried out an online campaign to mobilise people to gather at the seats of government and justice on January 8 for a mass demonstration.

On Sunday afternoon, the Bolsonarists marched up to Brasilia’s Praça dos Três Poderes, or Three Powers Square, where the three buildings housing the country’s three branches of power are located. The main group of protesters walked about 8 km in a procession from the military headquarters where they had been gathering for weeks, and entered the Three Powers plaza through the Esplanada dos Ministérios, or Ministries Promenade, where the ministerial buildings are located.

They apparently faced no resistance from police or security forces anywhere during their march through the city.

What did the protesters do in the square?

An AP report said they climbed on roofs, smashed windows and invaded all three buildings. They overturned furniture and looted items inside the buildings, The New York Times said, upon evidence of videos that the rioters posted online. They shouted that they were taking their country back and that they would not be stopped, The NYT report said.

Media reports said police used rubber bullets, pepper spray, and tear gas to dispel the protesters. Helicopters hovered overhead, and eventually, the military moved in to help retake some of the government buildings from the protesters, The NYT report said.

What has the government said?

President Lula, who was not in Brasilia and arrived on the scene in the evening, blamed Bolsonaro squarely for the violence, saying he “triggered” it. “He spurred attacks on the three powers whenever he could. This is also his responsibility,” Lula said in an address to the nation, The NYT reported.

The President invoked emergency powers allowing the federal government to take “any measures necessary” to restore order in the capital, Minister of Justice Flávio Dino said an investigation was underway, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Rosa Weber said all those responsible for security in Brasilia would be investigated, the BBC reported.

“There is no precedent for what these people have done, and for that, these people must be punished,” The NYT report quoted Lula as saying.

Where is Bolsonaro now?

The former president is believed to be in Florida, United States where he flew in late December last year. The NYT reported that he had plans to “stay for at least month”, and that he has been renting a rented house owned by a professional mixed-martial-arts fighter a few miles from Disney World in Orlando.

Before leaving in the dying days of his presidency, Bolsonaro had urged his followers to stay calm — an appeal, which the events of Sunday show, came too late. On Sunday evening, he posted on Twitter, “Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy.

However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule.” (Translated from the Portuguese)

– Manifestações pacíficas, na forma da lei, fazem parte da democracia. Contudo, depredações e invasões de prédios públicos como ocorridos no dia de hoje, assim como os praticados pela esquerda em 2013 e 2017, fogem à regra.

— Jair M. Bolsonaro 2️⃣2️⃣ (@jairbolsonaro) January 9, 2023

Why are comparisons being made with the events of January 6, 2021, in the United States?

In Brasilia as in Washington DC, the rioters who took over the seat of government in the capital were supporters of defeated presidents — Donald Trump in the case of the US — who believed the election had been stolen from their leader. Trump had egged the rioters on publicly, which Bolsonaro did not do — but both men fed their base a constant diet of fake news and false claims about election fraud that convinced them.

“Democracies of the world must act fast to make clear there will be no support for right-wing insurrectionists storming the Brazilian Congress,” US Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, tweeted. “These fascists modeling themselves after Trump’s Jan. 6 rioters must end up in the same place: prison.”

Democracies of the world must act fast to make clear there will be no support for right-wing insurrectionists storming the Brazilian Congress. These fascists modeling themselves after Trump’s Jan. 6 rioters must end up in the same place: prison.

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) January 8, 2023