Who are the rioters who stormed Brazil’s government offices?

Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s former rightwing president Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday stormed the nation’s Congress, supreme court and presidential palace in the first crisis of the new presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. They demanded Lula stand down and called for the military to launch a coup d’état.

Who are the protesters?

Bolsonaro’s populist movement has long relied on radical, highly mobilised supporters who turn out in large numbers for rallies and events. They were a mainstay of his presidency between 2019 and last year and also protested in vast numbers following his defeat to Lula in the October elections.

In the days following the vote, many pro-Bolsonaro truckers blocked highways across the country, rapidly causing supply chain issues and at one point forcing the closure of Brazil’s main international airport. These hardline backers are nationalist, socially conservative and often evangelical Christians. They accuse Lula and his Workers’ party of being corrupt and against family values, claiming the left intends to implant socialism in Brazil.

What do they believe?

For more than a year ahead of the election, Bolsonaro cast doubt on the integrity of Brazil’s electronic voting machines, without presenting reputable evidence for his claims. Election authorities repeatedly demonstrated the integrity of the system and the election was deemed fair and transparent by international observers.

Although Bolsonaro was careful not to openly question the election results in the days following the vote, his supporters have claimed — without evidence — that the ballot was rigged. They also accuse top judges of showing political bias in favour of Lula and label a judicial crackdown on social media misinformation as censorship. Since the election, hundreds have camped outside military bases across the country, demanding the armed forces intervene to prevent Lula’s presidency.

“The armed forces have to enter and put Bolsonaro back to govern the country and continue his great job,” said Alexandra Morais, a woman in her 60s, at a demonstration outside an army barracks in the city of Belo Horizonte last year. “Seventy to 80 per cent of Brazilians want this, but the election was fraudulent.”

Despite a tense build-up ahead of Lula’s inauguration, including the discovery of an alleged bomb in Brasília, few turned out to protest at the swearing-in ceremony last week.

What does Bolsonaro say?

For two days following his election defeat, Bolsonaro remained silent. Then in a very brief statement he offered his tacit backing to radical protesters blocking highways and rallying outside army bases. “The people’s movements right now are the result of indignation and a feeling of injustice at how the electoral process unfolded,” Bolsonaro said at the time.

In the closing months of his presidency, he allowed demonstrators to continue occupying areas outside army bases, even as they called for military intervention to prevent the inauguration of Lula.

While Bolsonaro himself has not openly contested the election outcome, his political party launched a legal challenge to overturn the results, but it was rapidly rejected by a court. The conservative former army captain condemned an alleged bomb plot in Brasília uncovered by police a week before Lula’s inauguration ceremony.

Yet in an indication of the intense bitterness between Lula and Bolsonaro, the far-right populist broke with tradition by refusing to attend the swearing-in to hand over the presidential sash. Instead, he travelled to Florida, where last week he was spotted eating fast food.

Bolsonaro took to Twitter on Sunday evening to denounce the actions of his supporters.

“Peaceful demonstrations, in accordance with the law, are part of democracy. However, vandalism and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those committed by the left in 2013 and 2017, cross the line,” he wrote.

The ultra-conservative populist also rejected Lula’s accusations that he had encouraged the attacks.

Even so, Bolsonaro is likely to face censure from opponents for having created a polarised atmosphere and antagonism towards Brazil’s institutions, especially the supreme court.

Following the events on Sunday, many have also been critical of the governor of Brasília, Ibaneis Rocha, and his secretary of security, Anderson Torres. Both are considered close to the former president and have been seen to take a light touch with his supporters. On Sunday night, Reuters reported that Brazil’s solicitor-general had requested Torres’ arrest.

What happens now?

Lula took power vowing to unite the country after the divisive election. The attacks are likely to push him to take a tougher stance on far-right extremism. Visibly shaken, the president on Sunday called the demonstrators “vandals and fascists” who “have to be punished”. Flavio Dino, Brazil’s new minister for justice, was eager to crack down even prior to the attacks on Congress. He is likely to push for prosecutions and a programme to stamp out extremism.