Supporters of Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Storm Capitol

[Webster]

(BBC News) What we know so far
Hello and welcome to our coverage of unfolding events in the Brazilian capital, where thousands of protesters who support far-right ex-President Jair Bolsonaro have stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and surrounded the presidential palace.

Here is what we know so far:
--Some protesters managed to reach the Brazilian senate chamber
--It is unclear if they are still in the building
--Police have used tear gas but have not been able to repel the protesters
--It's happening a week after the inauguration of left-wing veteran Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's
--Supporters of Bolsonaro do not accept the validity of the election result
--It comes two years and two days after similar events in the US capital, when supporters of Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building in protest at the election of Joe Biden.

 

[Webster]

(BBC News) 'What happened today was barbarism' - Lula
In the past few minutes, President Lula has been giving a televised address, in which he called the attack in Brasilia "barbarism" and warned that everyone involved would be "found and punished". We'll bring you more from his speech as we get it.

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Lula blames security forces
Here's a bit more from President Lula, who has spoken in the last hour about the attack. He said there was "incompetence, bad faith or malice" by the security forces of the Federal District (DF) of Brasilia.

"There was, I would say, incompetence, ill will or bad faith on the part of the people who take care of public safety in the DF. It is not the first time. You will see in the images that they [police officers] are guiding people on the walk to Praça dos Três Powers," said the president.

"We are going to find out who are the financiers of these vandals who went to Brasilia and they will all pay with the force of law," he added.

 

[Webster]

 

[Webster]

(BBC News) A sea of Bolsonaro protesters have gathered outside Congress, some for weeks

(BBC News) Protesters inside government offices were seen destroying things

 

[Nebulous]

Sounds similar to what happened at the white house not too long ago.

 

[Webster]

(BBC News) An 8km walk and almost no resistance: how did it happen?
One of the key issues under scrutiny right now is: how was it possible for thousands of protesters to storm the presidential palace, Supreme Court and Congress?

Since Lula won the run-off in October, the most radical “bolsonaristas” or supporters of former president Bolsonaro, have been gathering in front of military barracks not only in the capital, Brasília, but in many other cities.

The buildings that house the three branches of power in Brazil are all gathered in a square – the “Praça dos Três Poderes”, or Three Powers Square. Access the square, through a larger corridor, is the Esplanada dos Ministérios, or Ministries Promenade, the avenue with all the ministries’ buildings.

The “bolsonaristas” had to leave the army headquarters in Brasília – about 8km from Esplanada – and walk in large groups all the way to the square. This happened early on Sunday afternoon - now experts are asking how such a long march got through security and reached the square, only to then enter government buildings.

Footage from local TV stations and social media showed little to no resistance from security forces as the protesters went by.

To make matters more complicated, analysts note that an army brigade is permanently stationed in the presidential palace. Yet rioters managed to invade and vandalise the building. It took more than three hours and a federal decree of "intervention" - an order putting the federal government directly in charge of the security forces in Brasilia - to get things under control.

Minister of Justice Flávio Dino has said an investigation is already underway, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Rosa Weber said all those responsibile for security in Brasilia would be investigated. Brasilia security forces are yet to make a public statetment or respond to the questions being raised.

 

[Nebulous]

Just looking at the picture alone, the president sure does have a short commute to work.

 

[Webster]

Just looking at the picture alone, the president sure does have a short commute to work.

There's actually two presidential palaces, Nebby; the one above in the BBC pic is a ceremonial palace for official state functions and so forth.

 

[Webster]

Katy Watson, BBC News South America correspondent in São Paulo: This is not just about protestors being angry that Jair Bolsonaro lost – it’s more than that.

Many of the supporters I’ve spoken to in the past couple of months have said he’s less relevant than he was. What the hard-line protestors want more than anything is President Lula back in prison, not in the presidential palace. It’s their fear of communism and their (incorrect) view that Lula is a communist that is fuelling their anger more than anything.

Bolsonaro was the vehicle for that anger - he was the person to displace Lula. But he has been very quiet since losing (even flying off to Florida to avoid the inauguration) - and not even Bolsonaro has been as hard-line as his supporters.

Some people are disappointed in that. But his deputy, Hamilton Mourao, said on the eve of Lula’s inauguration that silence from leaders sows chaos in society - a direct criticism of his former boss - and we are seeing that play out now. Some people argue Bolsonaro is irrelevant – it’s only the army that can save Brazil.

This in a country that has a history of military dictatorship of course (many of these protestors if you asked them about the dictatorship would say that there never was one, the army just brought in order and economic growth). This a country where military rule is still very acceptable among a sizeable part of the population.

So while the attack is straight out of the Donald Trump playbook in many ways, this does differ from the US - it’s not just about Bolsonaro copying what Trump did. There are deep Brazilian roots in all of this and a throwback to the Cold War fear of communism.

 

[Nebulous]

There's actually two presidential palaces, Nebby; the one above in the BBC pic is a ceremonial palace for official state functions and so forth.

Oh, okay. also, how do you know that?

 

[Webster]

Oh, okay. also, how do you know that?

The Wiki is your friend...

By the way, here's their other residence....

Palácio da Alvorada - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Nebulous]

The Wiki is your friend...

By the way, here's their other residence....

Palácio da Alvorada - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Very cool, kind of has a hippy 60s / 70s vibe.

 

[Webster]

Marianna Spring, BBC News Disinformation and social media correspondent: Conspiracies pushing the idea that the election in Brazil was rigged - and that Bolsonaro was the real winner - have been circulating among his supporters online for weeks in the build-up to what happened in Brasilia. It means that the spotlight is once again on social media platforms.

What role did they play? And could they have quelled misinformation online that may have contributed to the protests?

Twitter in particular finds itself the subject of scrutiny. After Elon Musk took over, the company laid off staff including those in Brazil whose role was to tackle misinformation around the election. Twitter and Musk have repeatedly said they are tackling the most harmful content on the site. But it's hard not to draw a comparison with the sotrming of the US Capitol on 6 January two years ago - also driven by misinformation.

Narratives suggesting votes are rigged spread online and build over several months, fanned by influential political figures. They then inspire hardcore supporters to take action based off evidence-free ideas. On the BBC's Americast podcast this week, we discussed the legacy that those Capitol riots in the US have left behind. The conspiracies that played out that day have not just disappeared, they've continued to spiral beyond the US.

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Frances Mao, BBC News Reporting from Brasilia: In the hours after rioters temporarily took over Brazil's most important democratic institutions, residents of an affluent Bolsonaro-voting area of Brasilia were uneasy.

"It's a sad, sad day for Brazil. Unfortunately, I'm not surprised at all," said Victor, 28, a cafe kiosk worker. He said he had been expecting some sort of similar action before New Year's Eve, when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was inaugurated.

Outside the famous Our Lady of Fatima church just around the corner, a few people were praying.

One of them told me it was a minority of people who wanted the riots and violence. "But that's not what democracy is about. There will be winners and losers," said Oswald, 50. "Winners will govern the country, losers have to accept, and the country will continue to grow and develop.”

 

[KenDaGamer]

Those Bolsonaro fanboys will likely look at a lot of time in prison.