Brazil’s president Lula vows to punish 'vandals and fascists' who stormed Congress
9 January 2023, 00:17 | Updated: 9 January 2023, 08:30
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has vowed to punish supporters of former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro who stormed the country’s Congress.
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Visiting the site of the attack, the president inspected the damage caused by rioters.
He vowed to punish those responsible, saying there is "no precedent in the history of our country" for the scenes. He said the violence was the "acts of vandals and fascists".
He also accused security forces of "incompetence, bad faith or malice" for failing to stop the demonstrators.
Mounted police clashed with demonstrators on the ground while riot shield-wielding officers sought to protect the congress, the presidential palace and the supreme court.
Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro has refused to accept the results of a presidential election in which he was defeated by his left-wing rival.
Rishi Sunak said on Twitter: "I condemn any attempt to undermine the peaceful transfer of power and the democratic will of the people of Brazil."
He said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has the UK's "full support".
"I look forward to building on our countries' close ties in the years ahead," he added.
Thousands of demonstrators bypassed security barricades, climbed on the roofs, broke windows and invaded all three buildings, which are connected through the vast Three Powers square in Brasilia.
Some are calling for a military intervention to restore the far-right Mr Bolsonaro to power.
Images on TV channel Globo News showed protesters roaming the presidential palace, many of them wearing green and yellow, the colours of the flag that have also come to symbolise the Bolsonaro government.
It was likely that Congress and the Supreme Court had limited personnel inside the buildings on a Sunday.
Lula said there was "no precedent in the history of our country" for the scenes and called the violence the "acts of vandals and fascists".
He took aim at some police he accused of "incompetence, bad faith or malice" in the failure to stop rioters reaching congress.
He added: "You will see in the images that they [police officers] are guiding people on the walk to Praca dos Tres Powers.
"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."
