Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil's three main federal government buildings in an attempt to overturn the 2022 election result and remove newly inaugurated President Lula.
Key Facts
- Date of attack
- 8 January 2023
- Buildings stormed
- Supreme Court, National Congress, Planalto Palace
- Time to clear buildings
- More than five hours; cleared by 21:00 BRT
- State of emergency declared
- Federal District, through end of January 2023
- Congress ratification of decree
- By 10 January 2023
- Bolsonaro's location at time
- Orlando, Florida, USA
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following Jair Bolsonaro's defeat in the October 2022 Brazilian general election and the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 1 January 2023, weeks of unrest among Bolsonaro's supporters culminated in anger over the democratic transfer of power. Many supporters falsely believed a 'military intervention' could be triggered under Article 142 of the Brazilian constitution to nullify the election result.
On 8 January 2023, a mob of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and deliberately vandalized the Supreme Federal Court, the National Congress Palace, and the Planalto Presidential Palace in Brasília's Praça dos Três Poderes. Brazilian security forces took more than five hours to clear all three buildings, completing the operation by 21:00 BRT. Neither Lula nor Bolsonaro was present in Brasília at the time.
President Lula signed a decree at 18:00 BRT imposing a federal state of emergency in the Federal District through the end of January 2023, which Congress ratified by 10 January. The attack drew swift international condemnation. The event, sometimes called the Bolsonarist uprising, prompted widespread legal and political repercussions for those involved in the riots.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (President of Brazil).