MEXICO CITY (dpa-AFX) – After the outbreak of violence in the government district of the Brazilian capital, US President Joe Biden has pledged his support to the country’s new President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The White House released a joint statement by the two presidents on Monday (local time) after they spoke on the phone. It said Biden had condemned the violence and attack on Brazil’s democratic institutions and pledged “the United States’ unwavering support for Brazilian democracy.” The two also agreed to meet in Washington in early February. Biden is currently in Mexico and spoke to Lula on the phone during his visit there.
On Sunday, angry supporters of Brazilian ex-President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Congress, the Supreme Court and the government seat Palácio do Planalto in Brasília and caused considerable damage to the buildings. It took hours for the security forces to bring the situation back under control.
Right-wing President Bolsonaro lost the runoff election to left-wing politician Lula last October and left office at the turn of the year. Even before the election, he had repeatedly cast doubt on the electoral system. However, he did not provide any evidence of this. Even after the vote, he never explicitly acknowledged his defeat.
The outbreak of violence in Brazil is a grim reminder of the attack on the US Capitol two years ago almost to the day. supporters of the then US President donald trump had violently stormed the seat of parliament in Washington on January 6, 2021. Congress met there to formally confirm Democrat Biden’s victory in the presidential election. Trump had previously incited his supporters in a speech with the unsubstantiated claim that he had been deprived of a victory by massive election fraud. / jac / DP / he