Joe Biden called the situation in Brazil “outrageous” after supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded the country’s congress, presidential palace and supreme court on Sundaywhile some senior US lawmakers are calling for the ultra-right figure to be extradited from the US.
Biden’s words of condemnation were echoed by world leaders around the world and some of Brazil’s closest neighbors.
the president Luis Inacio Lula da Silvawho defeated Bolsonaro in a bitter election last year, has announced an intervention by federal security forces in Brasilia that will last until January 31, after the capital’s security forces were initially overwhelmed by the invaders.
“I condemn the attack on democracy and the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined,” Biden tweeted.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted that “the use of violence to attack democratic institutions is always unacceptable” and called for an immediate end to the invasion of Brazil’s democratic institutions.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US condemns any attempt to undermine democracy in Brazil. “President Biden is monitoring the situation closely, and we unwaveringly support Brazil’s democratic institutions. Brazil’s democracy will not be shaken by violence,” Sullivan said.
Bolsonaro flew out of Brazil on the eve of Lula’s inauguration and is currently in Florida. Many in the US – and indeed around the world – saw the actions of Bolsonaro’s supporters as echoes of the 2021 US Capitol invasion and called for the extradition of the former president.
Joaquin Castro, a member of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN that Bolsonaro used “Trump’s script to inspire domestic terrorists to try to take over the government.”
“Now Bolsonaro is in Florida…he should be extradited to Brazil…the United States should not be a safe haven for this authoritarian leader who has inspired domestic terrorism in Brazil,” he said.
US House Democrat and progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, “Nearly two years before the day the fascists attacked the US Capitol, we see fascist movements abroad trying to do the same in Brazil.”
She called on the US to “stop providing asylum to Bolsonaro in Florida.”
Nearly 2 years after the fascists attacked the US Capitol, we see fascist movements abroad trying to do the same in Brazil.
We must be in solidarity with @LulaOfficialdemocratically elected government of Russia. 🇧🇷
The US should stop granting asylum to Bolsonaro in Florida. https://t.co/rzsZl9jwZY
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 8, 2023
Chilean President Gabriel Boric called the assault on Brazil’s institutions a “cowardly and cowardly attack on democracy.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said: “Fascism has decided to stage a coup… This is urgent for the OAS.” [Organization of American States] meet if he wants to continue living as an institution.”
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez tweeted that he declared “unconditional support for @LulaOficial in the face of this coup attempt he is facing.”
Venezuelan President Nicola Maduro said he rejects “violence generated by Bolsonaro’s neo-fascist groups that attack Brazil’s democratic institutions. Our support for @LulaOfficial and for the Brazilian people who are sure to mobilize to protect the world and their president.”
Portuguese Foreign Minister João Gomes said that most of the responsibility lay with Bolsonaro and said that “it would be very important if he came forward to condemn the unrest that is currently taking place in Brazil.”
European Council President Charles Michel stated that Lula was “democratically elected by millions of Brazilians in fair and free elections” and condemned “the attack on Brazil’s democratic institutions”.
Emmanuel Macron of France said that Lula could count on her country’s “unwavering support” and that “the will of the Brazilian people and democratic institutions must be respected!