Bolsonaro's Followers Invade Congress, Supreme Court and Presidential Palace

WBO Press Release January 8, 2023

• Far-right coup movement copies Trump's efforts and tries to overthrow Lula's legitimate government

• Omission of the security forces raises the alert for the risk of a coup

On Sunday, January 8, thousands of far-right activists linked to former President Jair Bolsonaro attacked the buildings of the three branches of the Brazilian government in Brasília: the Planalto Palace, seat of the executive; the National Congress, seat of the legislative; and the Federal Supreme Court, the highest judicial body in the country.

The attack is the culmination of a movement led by Bolsonaro’s followers, who are trying to create conditions for a coup d'état to be carried out in Brazil. They refuse to accept the result of the October 30 presidential elections in which Bolsonaro, who was seeking a new term, was defeated by the now president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Lula beat Bolsonaro in the second round by a difference of more than 2 million votes (1.8 percent) and took office on January 1, 2023. The voting results were endorsed by the Federal Electoral Commission and by all of the international electoral observation missions present in the country. Lula had governed before, for two consecutive terms: from 2003 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2010.

At the time of the invasion, President Lula was in Araraquara, a city in the countryside of the state of São Paulo. That night, he arrived in Brasilia to personally see the damage and to meet with his ministers. No member of the government was personally attacked. There are no reports of deaths or serious injuries.

Bolsonaro has refused to recognize the results of the presidential election. On December 30, two days before Lula’s inauguration, he traveled to Orlando, Florida. In doing so, he avoided passing on the presidential sash to Lula. The now former Brazilian president is an enthusiast of the military dictatorship (1964-1985) and spent his four years in office announcing that he would not accept electoral defeat. Bolsonaro also emulates the coup movement led by his mentor, former President Donald Trump. In addition, he sponsored Brazilian legislation making it easier to access firearms and encouraged his supporters to aggressively confront their political opponents.

From Orlando, Bolsonaro limited himself to publishing a message on Twitter, in which he criticized “the depredations and invasions of public buildings.” He made no mention of an attempted forcible regime change, and said he repudiated any effort to hold him responsible for what happened. In Brasília, Lula said that "this [attack in Brasília] is also his [Bolsonaro's] responsibility, the parties that support him, and all of this will be investigated very seriously and very quickly."

THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE

As of Sunday night, January 8, more than 200 people had been arrested. The police, however, were slow to act, which created the conditions for the attack to take place. Policing of the Federal District is the responsibility of the local government, which is politically sympathetic to Bolsonaro. Anderson Torres, the secretary of public security of the Federal District, which is responsible for the capital’s militarized police, had been minister of justice in the Bolsonaro government in 2021 and 2022. At the time of the attack on the headquarters of the three branches of the federal government, he was on vacation in the United States. Ibaneis Rocha, the governor of the Federal District, dismissed Torres from office immediately after the invasion. Later, on the same day, the governor himself was removed from office for 90 days, by order of the Supreme Minister, Alexandre de Moraes.

Hours after the attack, President Lula signed a decree to enable a federal intervention in the public security sector of the Federal District government, which, in practice, stripped Governor Ibaneis Rocha of his powers over policing the capital. The measure must be approved by Congress on Monday, January 9. If adopted, it will remain in effect until January 31.

President Lula and Minister of Justice Flávio Dino announced the opening of investigations against civil and military authorities in the Federal District to determine whether there was any collaboration with the coup leaders. The federal government will also open investigations regarding businessmen who have been funding this movement for months, which have created conditions for Bolsonaro’s supporters to camp out in front of military installations across the country, calling for a coup d'état.

The WBO AND THE INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

The international reaction in support of Lula and in defense of democracy in Brazil was massive and immediate.  US President Joe Biden condemned the attack on democracy and reiterated that he recognizes Lula as the legitimate Brazilian president. French President Emmanuel Macron said that "the will of the Brazilian people and democratic institutions must be respected." Several leaders and representatives of international organizations made similar statements.

At the time of the attack, the Washington Brazil Office (WBO) immediately activated a wide network of contacts throughout the United States and in the US Congress to increase international pressure against the risk of a coup d'état in Brazil and to reinforce support for the democratically-elected government of President Lula.

Several US congressional members responded promptly. Senator Bernie Sanders said that the attack in Brasilia shows the importance of the resolution that he himself introduced in the US Senate on September 28, which the body unanimously approved. It asked President Joe Biden to break off relations with the Brazilian government if Bolsonaro refused to accept electoral defeat. Congressman Jamie Raskin called Brazilian coup plotters “fascists,” compared the movement to the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and said that those responsible in both countries need to go to prison.

Other US senators and Congressional representatives issued similar declarations. International and especially US solidarity with Brazilian democracy was fundamental in respecting the result of the October 30th Brazilian elections. To this end, the WBO organized a delegation with representatives of 19 Brazilian civil society organizations that visited Washington, D.C. to inform the U.S. Congress about the attacks against democracy in Brazil.

“For months we have been alerting the international community about the real and imminent risk of a coup d'état in Brazil. The Brazilian extreme right emulates Trump's coup d'état attempt in the US and shows that there are no limits in trying to subvert the democratic order. Now is the time for the US government to assess the extent to which it intends to continue allowing a former Brazilian president, who is known to be associated with the coup d'état in Latin America's largest democracy, to remain in Orlando,” commented James N. Green, the president of the WBO board of directors.

“This is the time for Brazilian democracy to be protected with concrete measures. It is necessary to investigate, identify, and hold accountable the perpetrators of these acts, the creators of the movement, its political advocates, and its financial supporters. This is the most serious attack on democracy in Brazil since the 1964 coup and needs a corresponding response,” said Paulo Abrão, executive secretary of the WBO.