Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s former rightwing president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country’s Congress, supreme court and presidential palace on Sunday, creating a crisis for new leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva just a week into his presidency.
Social media footage showed crowds vandalising the interiors of the three institutions in Brasília in scenes reminiscent of the US Capitol invasion two years ago by supporters of ex-president Donald Trump.
Clad in the yellow and green of the Brazilian flag, the protesters demanded Lula’s election victory be overturned, that the leftwinger be imprisoned and for a military coup d’état. Around 150 people were arrested, local media reported.
While the government buildings were unoccupied, the breaches will raise doubts about the security of Brazil’s political and judicial institutions. The incident will also present tough choices for Lula, who took the presidency promising to unite the nation but will now be under pressure to crack down on Bolsonaro’s radical supporters.