2023 Praça dos Três Poderes attack

2023 storming of the Praça dos Três Poderes
Part of the 2022 Brazilian election protests
File:Bolsonaristas-invadem-congresso.jpg Bolsonaro supporters storming Praça dos Três Poderes (Square of the Three Powers) in Brasília.
Date	8 January 2023 – ongoing
Location	Brasília, Brazil
Caused by	Victory of Lula da Silva in the 2022 Brazilian general election Former Brazillian President Jair Bolsonaro's baseless claims of electoral fraud
Goals	Instigating a military coup d'etat against the Lula government Reinstatement of Jair Bolsonaro as President of Brazil
Methods	Political demonstrations Protests Riots Vandalism
Parties to the civil conflict
Bolsonaro supporters Defected security and government forces Government of Brazil Military Police PMDF BOPE-PMDF Riot police Federal Police Federal Highway Police National Public Security Force Brazilian Army
Lead figures
No known organized leadership Lula da Silva Flávio Dino Ibaneis Rocha
Units involved
Number
Casualties and losses
Casualties
Injuries	40+
Arrested	~200/400+

On 8 January 2023, following his loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the 2022 Brazilian general election, supporters of the previous president, Jair Bolsonaro, attacked the Supreme Court of Brazil, National Congress of Brazil and the Planalto Presidential Palace in the Praça dos Três Poderes in the Brazilian federal capital of Brasília. Veneziano Vital do Rêgo, acting president of the Federal Senate, confirmed that protestors breached the Chamber of Deputies's Green Hall and attempted to invade the Planalto Palace. President Lula was not in Brasília at the time of the attack.

The attack occurred a week after Lula's inauguration and followed several weeks of unrest from Bolsonaro's supporters. At 18:00 BRT (UTC−03:00), Lula announced that he had signed a decree authorizing a federal state of emergency through the end of January. The Supreme Court, Congress and Presidential Palace were reported as cleared later that evening.

Background

Main article: 2022 Brazilian election protests

During Jair Bolsonaro's tenure as president, his allies and supporters floated the idea of an assault, similar to the 2021 United States Capitol attack, if he lost his re-election bid. Serious incidents of political violence, police brutality and voter intimidation followed the 2022 Brazilian general election. Supporters of Bolsonaro have used social media to spread misinformation claiming electoral fraud, motivating the protesters.

Some of the military reservists wanted a truckers' strike before the second round of elections, including colonel Marcos Koury. A video published on 16 October 2022 was one of several attempts by Koury to incite a general strike by truckers before the second round of elections. Koury's video about the shutdowns was shared in several Bolsonaro groups on Telegram, and days later members of these same groups started advocating roadblocks after the elections. Calls for the shutdown were also made on TikTok and YouTube.

Trucker protests lost strength on 3 November 2022, but Bolsonaro supporters started concentrating in the vicinity of Brazilian Armed Forces facilities. Demonstrations were recorded at military installations in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Florianópolis, Recife, Salvador, among other Brazilian cities and regions. Some Bolsonaro supporters called for a military coup.

Lula's electoral victory was officially ratified by Brazilian courts on 12 December 2022, with militant far-right Bolsonaro supporters storming the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília and torching vehicles on the street after one of the protesters was arrested for inciting violence in order to prevent the swearing-in of Lula. The police used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse them. A bombing attempt near the Brasília International Airport was prevented by the police on 23 December, and the suspect was arrested a day later. According to his testimony, he was motivated by Bolsonaro casting doubts at the integrity of the election process in past. Multiple other attacks were performed by Bolsonaro supporters during the beginning of Lula's government.

On 2 January 2023, former Bolsonaro minister Anderson Torres was appointed as chief security official of the Federal District. Torres left Brazil in the night of 6 January for Orlando, Florida, arriving to the US city on 7 January, in the eve of the events.

Planning

Reports on the planning of the attack were already circulating in the first week of 2023, with audios leaked from several WhatsApp and Telegram groups. The material obtained exposed the intention of the organization of the acts to provoke violent actions on the part of the crowd, circumventing police action.

Events

File:Bandeira do Império do Brasil com nó e cores corretos.png

Some protestors were seen with the flag of the Empire of Brazil.

File:2023 Praça dos Três Poderes attack.png

Bolsonaro supporters storming Praça dos Três Poderes.

File:STF é depredado por manifestantes.webm

Damage in the Supreme Federal Court building after the storming.

On the morning of January 7, more than 100 buses from all quarters of Brazil arrived in Brasília, bringing Bolsonaro supporters. They joined the 400 people that were already camped in front of the Army Headquarters, raising the total number to near 4,000 people.

On the afternoon of January 8, the demonstrators marched from the Army Headquarters, where some of them had been camped for weeks in the course of the protests, demanding a coup from the military. Lula's government tried to evict these camps, when it was not possible it ordered to reinforce security. The Minister of Justice also reiterated that week that the camps would be dismantled. The demonstrators broke the police barriers close to the congress building and confronted the police armed with sticks, who fired tear gas at them. Despite this, some members of the military police were caught being lenient with the invaders. The demonstrators then attempted to enter the Palácio do Planalto, seat of executive power and the Supreme Federal Court.

Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo, interim president of the Federal Senate, confirmed to CNN Brazil that protesters managed to invade the Congress building. According to him, they reached the upper part, where the domes of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies are located, and the Green Hall of the Chamber of Deputies.

Protesters later climbed the ramp of the Congress building and reached the Supreme Federal Court building and the Palácio do Planalto, where they, during the attempt to take over the buildings, committed acts of vandalism and attacked police.

Soldiers from the Brazilian Army responded. Two helicopters tried to disperse the crowd.

Folha de São Paulo photographer Pedro Ladeira was attacked and robbed by some of the protestors, as was a journalist for Metrópoles.

At the time of the riots, both Lula da Silva and Bolsonaro were not in Brasília; Lula was in Araraquara, São Paulo, while Bolsonaro was in Orlando, Florida in the United States.

The governor of the Federal District Ibaneis Rocha assured that he was "taking all measures to contain the anti-democratic riot in the Esplanada dos Ministérios", in addition, he dismissed the Secretary of Security of the Federal District, Anderson Torres. Likewise, the solicitor general's office reported that it had filed a request for Torres' arrest.

At 18:00 BRT (UTC−03:00), Lula announced that he had signed a decree authorizing a federal intervention in Brasília in the scope of public security, to continue until 31 January.

Hours after the security breach, the Military Police of the Federal District (PMDF) reported it had begun to clear rioters out of the buildings.

By 7 pm, over 150 people had already been arrested by the security forces, at least 30 of them In flagrante delicto in the Federal Senate. The Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino later announced, in a press conference, that approximately 200 people were arrested in flagrante delicto, and that new arrests were still being made; Still according to Dino, several buses heading to Brasília, as well as their financiers, had already been investigated and identified. The governor Ibaneis Rocha, in a publication on a social network, stated that more than 400 people had already been arrested.

During the confrontations with protesters, a National Force vehicle fell into the reflecting pool of the monument.

Reactions

The events have been likened by journalists to the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Some news portals and newspapers, such as G1, Veja and UOL, characterized what happened as a terrorist act.

Domestic

Government

See also: Federal intervention in the Distrito Federal in 2023

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned the demonstrators as "fascists" on a tweet and called their actions "barbarism". He said that "there was, I would say, incompetence, bad will, bad faith, on the part of the people who take care of public security in the Federal District". Minister of Planning and Budget Simone Tebet called for "exemplary punishments" for the protestors on Twitter. She added that "Federal Constitution supports our Ministers of Justice and Defense in the use of all rigorous legitimate means for the defense of order, society and democracy".

The Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies, Luciano Bivar (UNIÃO), stated that there would be reinforcement of the Military Police, with new contingents being sent this moment to the National Congress and the Planalto Palace.

Minister of Justice Flávio Dino, President of the Federal Senate Rodrigo Pacheco and Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin also criticized the attack in social media.

Parties and politicians

National President of the Workers' Party Gleisi Hoffmann said that "the DF government [of Ibaneis Rocha] was irresponsible in the face of the invasion of Brasília and the National Congress."

Liberal Party head Valdemar Costa Neto said, "Today is a sad day for the Brazilian nation. We cannot agree with the plundering of the national Congress. All orderly demonstrations are legitimate. Disorder has never been part of our nation's principles. I want to tell you that we vehemently disapprove of this type of attitude and let the law be enforced, strengthening our democracy" but also denied that the protestors were affiliated with or represented Bolsonaro.

Supporters of President Bolsonaro, like Senator Carlos Portinho, denounced acts of violence. Portinho, however, blamed the legal "superpowers" of Supreme Federal Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes for aggressive protests, calling for the superpowers removal to "appease" protestors. Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator and the eldest son of the former President, denied any relationship between the protestors and his father in leaked WhatsApp messages.

Senator Soraya Thronicke (UNIÃO) announced that her advisors filed a request for the opening of a parliamentary commission of inquiry against the protests.

Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, Governor of Rio Grande do Sul Eduardo Leite, former governor of Amapá Waldez Góes, as well as Federal deputies Marcelo Freixo and André Janones condemned the attacks, with some characterizing them as domestic terrorism.

Former presidential candidate Ciro Gomes classified the acts as one of the greatest "crimes in the history of the Republic", and encouraged punishments in the "maximum rigor of the law" to those responsible.

Bolsonaro condemned the protesters in a tweet and denied responsibility.

International

The attack was widely condemned by international governments and international organisations, especially in Latin America.

Americas

The Organisation of American States secretary-general Luis Almagro stated "We condemn the attack on the institutions in Brasília, which constitutes a reprehensible action and a direct attack on democracy. These actions are inexcusable and fascist in nature."

The United States embassy in Brazil referred to the protests as anti-democratic and warned its citizens to avoid the area of rioting. President Joe Biden described the situation as "outrageous". US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the calls for a coup on Twitter, writing "We condemn the attacks on Brazil's Presidency, Congress, and Supreme Court today. Using violence to attack democratic institutions is always unacceptable. We join [Lula da Silva] in urging an immediate end to these actions". United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also condemned the attack and said that the White House was following the situation. Many American observers also compared the attack to the attempted insurrection at the American capitol two years prior. Joaquin Castro, Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, called on the US government to deport Bolsonaro back to Brazil for inspiring the riots.

Latin American heads of state condemned the violence, such as President Gustavo Petro of Colombia, who called for an urgent meeting of the Organization of American States in the face of what he considers an attempted "coup" by fascism, or President Gabriel Boric of Chile, who condemned the rioting as a "vile attack" and announced his full support for the government. President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the riots and expressed support and solidarity with Lula and his government. President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro rejected the violence by "Bolsonaro's neo-fascist groups" and expressed support for Lula. Alberto Fernández, the president of Argentina, described the storming as an "attempted coup d'état". Likewise, Guillermo Lasso, President of Ecuador, condemned the "disrespectful acts of vandalism perpetrated against democratic institutions in Brasília", and expressed his support for the government of Lula da Silva. Other condemnations came from the Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard, the foreign minister of Argentina, and the foreign-affairs ministries of Ecuador, Bolivia and Uruguay.

Europe

EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Josep Borrell condemned the attack on the institutions.

The Iberian governments, who have historical and linguistic ties with Latin America, supported Lula. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain emphatically condemned the assault and showed support to Lula and to the democratically-elected Brazilian institutions, while the government of Portugal condemned the violence and stated its supporting of Brazilian authorities in restoring order and stability.

President of France Emmanuel Macron declared that Lula "can count on France's unwavering support". The attack was also condemned by the British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Italian deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister Antonio Tajani and Austrian foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg.

Left-wing figures and groups in Europe, such as the former Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras and former Leader of the British Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn expressed solidarity with Lula.

Other

The Progressive International also condemned the attack on Twitter.

See also

• 2019 South Korean Capitol attack
• 2022 German coup d'état plot
• List of coups and coup attempts in Brazil
  • 1937 Brazilian coup d'état
  • 1964 Brazilian coup d'état