Today’s riots happened about a week later Inauguration of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvawho defeated Jair Bolsonaro in the second round election on October 30 and is now back in power after a 12-year hiatus.
The election comes amid tense and polarized politics in Brazil, which is grappling with high inflation, limited growth and rising poverty.
In the weeks since Bolsonaro’s loss, thousands of his supporters have gathered in army barracks across the country, demanding that the military intervene when they claim that the election was stolen without have evidence.
Statement from the former president: Bolsonaro alleges that some voting machines malfunctioned during his run against Lula. He launched a petition to annul the ballots from the election.
The head of the Brazilian electoral court denied that petition as “ridiculous and illegitimate” and “ostensibly a conspiracy against the rule of law democracy.”
In his ruling, Alexandre De Moraes, Chief Justice of the Alexandre Supreme Electoral Court, said all electronic ballot samples were “perfectly identifiable in a way that is clear, secure and complete”.
Bolsonaro’s government said it would cooperate with the transition of powerbut the far-right leader did not explicitly concede his electoral defeat, and he left the country for the United States before Lula’s inauguration.
Bolsonaro supporters have been camping in the capital ever since. Justice Minister Flavio Dino authorized the Armed Forces to set up barriers and secure the parliament building on Saturday due to the continued presence of Bolsonaro supporters. But the crowd breached those defenses on Sunday.
Prior violence: In the time since Bolsonaro refused to explicitly concede his electoral defeat, there have been other cases of violence in Brazil.
A man has been arrested in Brasília after he was arrested trying to enter Lula’s inauguration party, carrying knives and fireworks, the State Police of the Federal District said in a statement.
The police also catch a man on suspicion of planting and possessing an explosive device at Brasília International Airport.
The suspect, identified as 54-year-old gas station manager George Washington de Oliveira Sousa, is a Bolsonaro supporter and told police in a statement, seen by CNN, that he intended to “create chaos.” riot” to prevent Lula from taking office.
Bolsonaro condemn Sousa’s bomb plot, saying there was “no excuse” for an “act of terror.”
