The Diplomat
The Spanish government yesterday expressed its condemnation of the assault on Congress, the presidential palace and the headquarters of the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil by hundreds of supporters of the former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, who were demonstrating against his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Spanish government expressed its “unconditional support” for Lula, “democratically elected by the Brazilian people and proclaimed legitimate president of the country by the competent Brazilian electoral bodies”.
“We wish to express our rejection of any initiative or attitude that calls into question the democratic process in Brazil by sectors that do not want to accept the results that emanate from the will of the Brazilian people,” the statement said.
The President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, used his Twitter account to express his full support for Lula and “the institutions freely and democratically elected by the Brazilian people”. He added: “We roundly condemn the assault on the Brazilian Congress and call for an immediate return to democratic normality”.
Similarly, the Second Vice-President and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, expressed her concern at what had happened and, after expressing her support for President Lula da Silva, stressed that “a minority will not be able to bend the will of the Brazilian people”. “We will continue to expand democracy and win more rights,” he added on social media.
Other government ministers, such as the Minister for Social Rights and Agenda 2030, Ione Belarra, and also the President of the Congress of Deputies, Meritxell Batet, who expressed her solidarity with Lula da Silva and the Brazilian authorities in the face of the “intolerable attack on institutions and democracy”, she wrote on Twitter.
Hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters, who had gathered in front of the army headquarters in the administrative centre of Brasilia, marched to the Esplanade of the Ministries, where dozens of participants climbed up to the Congress building. Later, they went to the presidential headquarters, the Planalto Palace, and to the Supreme Court, where they invaded the court’s plenary. Images emerged of the demonstrators causing significant destruction inside the buildings.
Lula da Silva, who was in Sao Paulo to see first-hand the damage caused last week by the heavy rains, which killed six people, decided after the assault to sign a decree for the federal government to take over security in the federal district of Brasilia. “All vandals will be found and punished,” he said.
In the early hours of the night, the Brazilian security forces managed to regain control of Congress, the Planalto Palace and the Supreme Court.
