Brazil Seeks to Punish Pro-Bolsonaro Rioters
2023-01-10
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1Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promised to bring those responsible for the violence to justice after the attack on Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential home in Brasília.
2On Sunday, thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro broke windows, threw furniture, destroyed artwork, stole objects, and flooded offices during a three-hour riot in the capital area of Brasília.
3Wearing green and yellow, the colors of the national flag, they were seeking to bring Bolsonaro back to power.
4Observers said the actions were like the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building in 2021.
5The Associated Press reported that one video showed a group of protesters pushing through a police line with limited struggle.
6Only a few officers deployed pepper spray, a chemical often used to control crowds.
7Another showed officers standing by as protesters stormed Congress, including one recording images on his phone.
8"These vandals...did what has never been done in the history of this country," said Lula who defeated Bolsonaro in a closely fought election.
9"All these people who did this will be found and they will be punished."
10Lula blamed Bolsonaro for inciting his supporters with unproven claims about possible election cheating.
11He said, "Everybody knows there are various speeches of the ex-president encouraging this."
12On Sunday, Bolsonaro was silent for nearly six hours about the events in Brasília before rejecting Lula's accusation.
13He denied inciting his supporters.
14He said the rioters had "crossed the line".
15Bolsonaro, who is now in the U.S. state of Florida, has yet to admit that he lost the election.
16He claimed that Brazil's electronic voting system was easy to misuse without offering any evidence.
17And his party's request to set aside ballots was dismissed in court.
18Bolsonaro's supporters still refused to accept the results.
19Paulo Calmon is a political science professor at the University of Brasília.
20He called Bolsonaro the "Trump of Latin America" and compared his supporters' actions on January 8 in Brasília to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
21Mario Sérgio Lima is a political analyst at Medley Advisors, a policy research group.
22He said, "These groups were created by him, by the radicalism he imposed on politics. There is no way to undo that..."
23Unlike the 2021 attack in the U.S., few Brazilian officials would have been working in the top government buildings on a Sunday.
24But the president's allies raised questions about how public security forces in Brasília were so unprepared.
25They appeared to be easily overtaken by rioters who had been planning on social media for days to gather for weekend demonstrations.
26Thiago de Aragão is director of strategy at Brasília-based Arko Advice, a research company.
27He said, "Everyone knew they (the protesters) were coming to Brasília. The expectation was that the federal district's government was going to mount a response to protect the capital. They didn't do any of that."
28Justice Minister Flávio Dino said the actions were the same as terrorism.
29He said officials were looking into who paid for the buses that transported protesters to the capital.
30"They will not succeed in destroying Brazilian democracy," he said.
31Brazilian officials noted that the buildings would be searched for evidence including fingerprints and images.
32On Monday, the justice ministry said more than 1,200 people had been detained.
33Following the attack, many world leaders from Europe and Latin America voiced their support for Brazil's democratic government.
34U.S. President Joe Biden called the events an "assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power."
35I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promised to bring those responsible for the violence to justice after the attack on Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential home in Brasília. 2On Sunday, thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro broke windows, threw furniture, destroyed artwork, stole objects, and flooded offices during a three-hour riot in the capital area of Brasília. 3Wearing green and yellow, the colors of the national flag, they were seeking to bring Bolsonaro back to power. Observers said the actions were like the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building in 2021. 4The Associated Press reported that one video showed a group of protesters pushing through a police line with limited struggle. Only a few officers deployed pepper spray, a chemical often used to control crowds. Another showed officers standing by as protesters stormed Congress, including one recording images on his phone. 5"These vandals...did what has never been done in the history of this country," said Lula who defeated Bolsonaro in a closely fought election. "All these people who did this will be found and they will be punished." 6Lula blamed Bolsonaro for inciting his supporters with unproven claims about possible election cheating. He said, "Everybody knows there are various speeches of the ex-president encouraging this." 7On Sunday, Bolsonaro was silent for nearly six hours about the events in Brasília before rejecting Lula's accusation. He denied inciting his supporters. He said the rioters had "crossed the line". 8Claims of cheating 9Bolsonaro, who is now in the U.S. state of Florida, has yet to admit that he lost the election. He claimed that Brazil's electronic voting system was easy to misuse without offering any evidence. And his party's request to set aside ballots was dismissed in court. 10Bolsonaro's supporters still refused to accept the results. 11Paulo Calmon is a political science professor at the University of Brasília. He called Bolsonaro the "Trump of Latin America" and compared his supporters' actions on January 8 in Brasília to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. 12Mario Sérgio Lima is a political analyst at Medley Advisors, a policy research group. He said, "These groups were created by him, by the radicalism he imposed on politics. There is no way to undo that..." 13Unlike the 2021 attack in the U.S., few Brazilian officials would have been working in the top government buildings on a Sunday. But the president's allies raised questions about how public security forces in Brasília were so unprepared. They appeared to be easily overtaken by rioters who had been planning on social media for days to gather for weekend demonstrations. 14Thiago de Aragão is director of strategy at Brasília-based Arko Advice, a research company. He said, "Everyone knew they (the protesters) were coming to Brasília. The expectation was that the federal district's government was going to mount a response to protect the capital. They didn't do any of that." 15Justice Minister Flávio Dino said the actions were the same as terrorism. He said officials were looking into who paid for the buses that transported protesters to the capital. "They will not succeed in destroying Brazilian democracy," he said. 16Brazilian officials noted that the buildings would be searched for evidence including fingerprints and images. 17On Monday, the justice ministry said more than 1,200 people had been detained. 18Following the attack, many world leaders from Europe and Latin America voiced their support for Brazil's democratic government. U.S. President Joe Biden called the events an "assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power." 19I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 20Hai Do adapted this report for VOA Learning English from Associated Press and Reuters sources. 21___________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23furniture -n. objects in the home or workplace such as chairs, tables, and shelves 24various -adj. describing many different things 25encourage -v. to make someone want to do something 26radicalism -n. the opinions of people who support extreme change, especially in government 27mount -v. to organize to carry out some action, especially involving many people and planning 28fingerprint -n. a mark left by the fingers that can be copied and recorded 29assault -n. an attack 30transfer -v. to cause something to be moved from one person to another 31____________________________________________________________________ 32We want to hear from you. 33We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 34Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.