Western leaders condemn storming of government HQs in Brasília

International leaders were quick to repudiate the storming of Brazil’s Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court this afternoon, with presidents from Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Spain, France, as well as the U.S. Department of State, voicing their backing for Brazil’s democratically-elected authorities only a couple of hours after incidents began.

“A disgraceful attack by Bolsonaristas on the three branches of government in Brazil. The Brazilian government has our full support in the face of this cowardly and vile attack on democracy,” tweeted Chilean President Gabriel Boric.

Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, meanwhile, called for the Organization of American States (OAS) to intervene.

“All my solidarity lies with [President] Lula and the people of Brazil. Fascism is attempting a coup. Right-wingers have not been able to withhold the pact of non-violence. It is high time for a meeting in the OAS, and to apply its democratic charter,” President Petro argued.

In Argentina, President Alberto Fernández also came out quickly to condemn the rioters for storming government buildings, although the reactions across the rest of the political spectrum were perhaps more interesting.

Centrist Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta — one of the frontrunners for this year’s presidential elections — chimed in by saying he was “deeply worried” about the “assault against Brazil’s democratic institutions.”

“I fully repudiate violent action and give my full solidarity to Lula and the people of Brazil,” Mr. Larreta said.

But his position was not unanimous in the country, as rising libertarian economist Javier Milei retweeted a local far-right publication describing the event as a “massive protest against Lula’s dictatorial decisions.”

Other key leaders in Argentina, such as former President Mauricio Macri and his ally Patricia Bullrich, have remained silent so far.

Center-right leaders elsewhere expressed their support for the Brazilian government, as was the case of Uruguay’s Luis Lacalle Pou, who said “we lament and condemn the actions in Brazil, which are an attack against its democracy and institutions.”

Outside of Latin America, Spain’s President Pedro Sánchez was the first to speak on the matter, calling for an “immediate return to democratic normalcy,” with France’s Emmanuel Macron joining him shortly after.

U.S. Department of State Secretary Antony Blinken echoed the sentiment. “Using violence to attack democratic institutions is always unacceptable. We join Lula in urging an immediate end to these actions.”

• #congress
• #government
• #violence