Lula condemns ‘terrorist’ riots
ABOUT 1500 people have been arrested in Brazil after supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court.
The rioting came a week after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in.
He condemned the “terrorist acts” and vowed to punish the perpetrators.
Mr Bolsonaro has not admitted defeat and flew to the US before the handover. On Monday, he was admitted to hospital in Florida with abdominal pain.
The former president was stabbed in 2018 and has since struggled with abdominal pain on occasion.
On Instagram on Monday, Michelle Bolsonaro confirmed that her husband was under observation due to abdominal discomfort.
The new president — widely known as Lula — and the heads of Congress and the Supreme Court “reject the terrorist acts and criminal, coupmongering vandalism that occurred” during the riots.
The dramatic scenes saw thousands of protesters clad in yellow Brazil football shirts and flags overrun police and ransack the heart of the Brazilian state.
Mr Lula was forced to declare emergency powers.
On Monday morning, heavily armed officers started dismantling a camp of Mr Bolsonaro’s supporters in Brasilia — one of a number that have been set up outside army barracks around the country since October’s election.
Authorities arrested 1200 people on Monday — in addition to 300 detained a day earlier.
Justice Minister Flavio Dino said some 40 buses which had been used to transport protesters to the capital had been seized.
Mr Bolsonaro condemned the attack and denied responsibility for encouraging the rioters in a post on Twitter some six hours after violence broke out.
Meanwhile, Brasília governor, Ibaneis Rocha, has been removed from his post for 90 days by the Supreme Court.