Brazil, Bolsonaro supporters storm Parliament in Brasilia

It’s chaos in Brasilia. Today thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro – as attempted two years ago in the United States by supporters of Donald Trump – have broke into the Congress building and in other institutional locations in Brazil, such as the Palácio do Planaltoofficial seat of the Presidency of the Republic, and the seat of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Brazil.

A coordinated assault that comes a week after the inauguration of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in his third term at the helm of Brazil after defeating Bolsonaro in the elections last October, albeit by a hair’s breadth of votes: 50.90% versus 49.10%.

Just as happened in the United States, Bolsonaro’s supporters did not accept the result of the runoff and today they attempted to take control of the institutional headquarters in Brasilia, overcoming the security cordons and sowing chaos while clamoring for the intervention of the army and Lula’s resignationwho was today in the state of São Paulo for an official trip.

Law enforcement agencies are trying to push back the occupiers and stop their destructive actions, inside and outside the institutional buildings they managed to break into. The videos circulating on social networks already show the damage done by supporters of the former far-right president, images that bring to mind the assault on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021.

Law enforcement officers are using stun bombs and tear gas to try to contain the demonstrators, while reinforcements are on the way, as promptly announced by the Brazilian justice minister Flavio Dino: “This absurd attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail. The federal district government says there will be reinforcements. And the forces at our disposal are at work. I am in the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice“.