Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was elected on October 30, 2022 and was sworn in and inaugurated on January 1 this year, has deployed federal forces against supporters of his predecessor Bolsonaro who have seized government buildings.
"This will not happen again. We will establish the identity of those who financed all this, who paid for the travel, lodging and meals of all these people. And they will pay," he said.
It is reported that during the riots, the law enforcement officers detained about 400 people. Four busloads of protesters were sent to the specialized police department. Violators may face up to 12 years in prison.
It is known that the supporters of former President Bolsonaro do not recognize his defeat in the elections in 2022, and regularly held protests demanding his return to power.
The current head of state, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, said: "They invaded here, gutted the furniture, unfortunately, the Federal District police could not do anything. I would say that this is incompetence or dishonesty on the part of the people who are supposed to be looking after the public safety of the Federal District. This is not the first such case. You will see in the footage that they leave their positions and go to the protesters themselves."
It was possible to regain control over the situation only after the intervention of federal security forces. The governor of the capital Federal District, Ibáñez Rocha, was removed from the leadership of the region. Supporters of Bolsonaro say they were participating in a "peaceful demonstration" and demanding new elections because they do not believe Lula's election was democratic.
Bolsonaro himself, who is in the United States, condemned the riots, saying that "peaceful demonstrations within the framework of the law are part of democracy, and vandalism and invasion of public buildings go beyond the rules."
World leaders condemned the events in Brazil, in particular the head of the European Council Charles Michel, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, US President Joe Biden and others.
According to local media estimates, about 5 people took part in the protests in total.
