Brazil capital reels as anti-Lula rioters storm Congress, court

Bloomberg

Brazil’s capital was recovering early Monday from an insurrection by thousands of supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed the country’s top government institutions, leaving a trail of destruction and testing the leadership of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva just a week after he took office.
Rioters ransacked congress, the presidential palace and the top court in Brasilia on Sunday, hoping to trigger a military intervention. It took hours for security forces to regain control of the main government buildings. Hundreds of arrests were carried out through the night, but thousands of Bolsonaro supporters remained in the area.
Lula, who was visiting a city destroyed by rains in the state of Sao Paulo, returned late to the capital and decreed federal intervention in Brasilia’s security, which was likely to be confirmed by congress during an extraordinary session early Monday. In a show of strength, he’s likely to meet with the heads of congress and the top court, as well as state governors who are expected to fly into Brasilia.
While the scenes of protesters flooding into the country’s main government buildings have obvious parallels with the Jan. 6 invasion of the US Capitol two years ago, there were suggestions of complicity in Brasilia. Gleisi Hoffmann, the president of the ruling Workers’ Party, criticized the authorities in the capital for not preventing the civil unrest. Lula said police who failed to confront protesters would be prosecuted.
“There’s no precedent for this in the history of our country,” the president said in televised comments, vowing to prosecute the rioters. “We’re going to find out who the financial backers are.”
In the early hours of Monday, top court Justice Alexandre de Moraes criticized the “despicable terrorist attacks on democracy” and ordered Federal District Governor Ibaneis Rocha removed from office for 90 days while his responsibility in the security breach is investigated.
Moraes also gave police 24 hours to disband Bolsonaro’s supporters who have been camping in front of military headquarters across the country since the conservative leader lost to Lula by a razor-thin margin in an election runoff on Oct. 30.

Acts of Vandalism
The extent of the market impact amid the resurgence of political volatility remains unclear. Bonds fell during the start of European trading on Monday, with the yield on dollar-denominated notes rising four basis points to 6.53%. An exchange-traded fund that tracks the MSCI Brazil Index fell as much as 2.4% during early trading in London before trimming losses.
Protesters were draped in Brazilian flags and wearing the yellow national jersey associated with conservative politics when they flooded into the country’s main government buildings on Sunday afternoon.
Some rioters broke windows, furniture and carried out other acts of vandalism at government headquarters, while others took videos and selfies. Communications Minister Paulo Pimenta said several works of art were damaged.
President Joe Biden called the storming “outrageous,” while leaders across Latin America and Europe were quick to pledge solidarity with Lula.