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 will likely 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.
