Brazil | After Washington, Brasília

Thousands of supporters of far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Brazilian Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace in Brasília on Sunday, wreaking havoc.

After the Capitol in Washington in 2021 and the freedom convoy in Ottawa in 2022, it was towards the capital of Brazil that a crowd converged at the start of the year.

On Sunday, thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, refusing to admit defeat, broke through barricades, climbed onto rooftops, smashed windows and invaded the three buildings located in Three Powers Square, in Brasilia. Some have called for military intervention to bring former President Jair Bolsonaro back to power or oust current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The area had however been cordoned off by the authorities, but the Bolsonarists managed to force the security cordons.

On social networks, we can see videos showing the offices of parliamentarians ransacked or demonstrators standing on the seats of the hemicycle in the Senate. One even sat in the speaker’s seat in the upper house, a startling mimicry of pro-Trump protesters in the US Congress two years ago.

The damage seems considerable in these buildings which are treasures of modern architecture and which are full of works of art. Priceless paintings in particular were damaged, including mulattoesby the modernist painter Di Cavalcanti, exhibited in the presidential palace and pierced with several holes.

Five journalists were attacked, according to a local press union. Among them, a photographer from Agence France-Presse was beaten and had all his equipment stolen.

As night fell, security forces evacuated the buildings and gradually regained control of the situation, with water cannons keeping protesters at bay. Dozens of them, however, remained on the outskirts, and the situation remained confused. At least 300 people were arrested at the scene, according to Brazilian Federal Police on Twitter in the evening.

“Fanatical fascists”, denounces Lula

President Lula, in office for only a week and already facing a major crisis, returned in the evening to the capital to visit the devastated places, after condemning the events from Araraquara, in the state of São Paulo, where he was due to severe flooding.

He then claimed that the attackers were “vandals, fanatical fascists”. He also signed a decree to allow the federal government to control security forces in the Federal District, saying the event was “unprecedented in Brazilian history”.

After several hours, former President Jair Bolsonaro, now in the United States, came out of his silence to denounce on Twitter “the depredations and invasions of public buildings […] contrary to the rule” governing “peaceful demonstrations”.

In another tweet, however, he “rejected the accusations, without proof” of his successor Lula against him.

“Patriots” and “Terrorists”

“Today’s rampage was a planned and funded action,” said Meg Stalcup, professor of anthropology at the University of Ottawa and specialist in Brazil. “The supporters enjoyed at least tacit support from the police and some authorities. »

In his view, the media climate also has a lot to do with the radicalization of a section of the pro-Bolsonaro population. “They see themselves as patriots, and the rest of the country sees them as terrorists,” she observes.​​

Recall that the current president narrowly won the electoral race at the end of last October, obtaining 50.9% of the certified votes, against 49.1% for Jair Bolsonaro.

The latter has never officially recognized Lula’s victory, explains Mr.^me Stalcup. “He has not changed his Twitter either, where he still says he is President of the Republic,” she underlines.

Inspired by the assault on the Capitol?

The similarities are striking between Sunday in Brasília and the storming of the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. But, according to Meg Stalcup, the protesters on Sunday wanted to succeed where those in the Capitol had failed. “I don’t think it went the way they hoped,” she says, “because what they wanted was for the army to act independently of Lula. [en les soutenant]. »

“They wanted the military intervention, and in a way, they got it, but not in the way they expected,” notes the anthropologist, explaining that the police turned against them.

Such an invasion could perhaps even help the government of Lula, also observes M^me Stalcup, “because it’s going to be more obvious to everyone that there are extremists who act a certain way [du côté de Bolsonaro] “.

Indeed, it is not all the voters who positioned themselves for Bolsonaro last October who support the demonstrators, recalls M^me Stalcup. Many did not vote for Lula simply because they are not on the left of the political spectrum.

Many political allies of the former president have also publicly disassociated themselves from the protesters on Sunday.

It remains to be seen whether the insurrection will die out or continue, because on social networks, new calls for mobilization are circulating, inviting people to come to Brasília this Monday, says Ms.^me Stalcup.

With Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press