Brazil: The president of Brazil Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vowed to punish supporters of the former president Mr. Jair Bolsonaro after they invaded the country’s presidential palace, congress, supreme court, and ministries’ buildings.
Mr. Lula described the protests as “barbarism” and added that “everyone involved in the riots will be found and punished.”
Thousands of people, many draped in the yellow and green of the Brazilian flag, streamed up the steps of the National Congress building in the capital city. Police regained control of the buildings in the capital, Brasilia, after hours of clashes.
The president arrived in the city and toured the supreme court building to see the damage for himself. According to justice minister Mr. Flavio Dino, around 200 people had already been arrested.
The Governor of Brasilia, Mr. Ibaneis Rocha, has been removed from his post for 90 days by the Supreme Court. Justice Mr. Alexandre de Moraes accused Mr. Rocha of failing to prevent the riot and of being “painfully silent in the face of the attack.”
The protests, which witnessed thousands of protesters clad in yellow Brazil football shirts and flags overrun police as well as ransack the heart of the Brazilian state, came just a week after Lula’s inauguration.
The veteran left-wing leader was forced to declare emergency powers before dispatching the national guard into the capital to restore order.
In addition, Mr. Lula ordered to close the centre of the capital, including the main avenue where governmental buildings are situated, for 24 hours.
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