By Jack Nicas and Ana Ionova

BRASÍLIA – Brazilian authorities are investigating one of the worst attacks on the country’s democracy in the 38 years since the end of the military dictatorship, after thousands of supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s far-right former president, stormed government buildings in the capital, Brasília, on Sunday (8) to protest what they falsely claim was a stolen election.

Brazil was also bracing for the possibility of further unrest on Monday (9) as authorities started to dismantle tent cities outside military headquarters, where Bolsonaro supporters have been camping out since October’s election. The election was won by the leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Overnight, the Supreme Court ordered authorities to break up the camps, which have sprung up in front of army barracks in cities across Brazil, within 24 hours. Lula also signed an emergency decree late on Sunday, putting federal authorities in charge of security in Brazil’s capital.

In scenes reminiscent of the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol, Bolsonaro’s supporters laid siege to Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices — the violent culmination of years of conspiracy theories advanced by Bolsonaro and his far-right allies. They set fires, repurposed barricades as weapons, knocked police officers from horseback and filmed their violent acts as they committed them. By Sunday night, the seat of government had been cleared and officials had arrested scores of people, with one official saying the number of arrests had exceeded 400.

For Lula, who officially returned as president only last week, a central challenge will be to unify the nation after a bitter election in which some of his supporters framed Bolsonaro as genocidal and cannibalistic, while Bolsonaro repeatedly called Lula a criminal. (Lula served 19 months in prison on corruption charges that were later thrown out.)

Surveys have shown that a sizable chunk of the Brazilian population says it believes that Lula stole the election, fuelled by false claims that have spread across the internet and a shift among many right-wing voters away from traditional sources of news — problems that have also plagued U.S. politics in recent years.

President Joe Biden, who was visiting the southern US border on Sunday, called the protests “outrageous,” and Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser, said that the United States “condemns any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil.”

These are some other key developments:

— Brazil’s Congress was called back from recess for an emergency session, which is expected to begin on Monday. Lawmakers could decide to launch an investigation into the attacks.

— Overnight, Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court judge, suspended Ibaneis Rocha, the governor of the Federal District, where Brasília is located, for 90 days while investigations take place into his role in Sunday’s events. Supporters of Bolsonaro have long criticized de Moraes, accusing him of wielding power unilaterally. Lula is scheduled to meet with de Moraes on Monday in the damaged Supreme Court building.

— Lula, who was not in Brasília during the invasion, issued an emergency decree until Jan. 31 that allows the federal government to take “any measures necessary” to restore order in the capital. He arrived in the capital late in the day to inspect the damage and said that his government would also investigate anyone who may have financed the protests.

— Bolsonaro, who lost October’s runoff by less than two percentage points, criticized the protests on Sunday evening, saying on Twitter that peaceful demonstrations were part of democracy, but that “destruction and invasions of public buildings, like what occurred today,” were not. The former president, who appeared to be in Florida, also repudiated Lula’s comments that he bore some responsibility for the riots, saying those accusations were “without proof.”

-New York Times