Brazilian President Lula da Silva announced that he would resume work, starting today, Monday, in the presidential headquarters in the capital, Brasilia, the day after the attack, as well as the headquarters of Congress and the Supreme Court, were attacked by hundreds of supporters of his right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

"The putschists who vandalized public property in Brasilia are being identified and will be held accountable. Tomorrow (Monday) we will resume work on the Planalto Palace. Democracy is always," the president, who inspected the vandalized buildings in Brasilia late yesterday, wrote in a tweet.

Estive ago à noite no Palácio do Planalto e no STF.

Os golpistas that promote a destruição do patrimônio public em Brasília estão sendo identificados e serão punidos.

Amanhã retomamos os trabalhos no Palácio do Planalto.

Democracia semper.

Boa noite.

📸: @ricardostuckert pic.twitter.com/qkyVZHQQdz

— Lula (@LulaOficial) January 9, 2023

After hours of chaos, the security forces regained control of the buildings that had been stormed by hundreds of demonstrators against the returning president, and arrested more than 200 people, according to Justice Minister Flavio Dino.

The authorities cordoned off the area, but Bolsonaro's supporters - most of whom wore the soccer team shirt, a symbol they took for themselves - managed to bypass the security cordon and caused severe damage to the three huge headquarters, which are considered architectural masterpieces of modern style and are full of artwork.

Video clips spread on communication sites showing the devastation in the offices of parliamentarians, and a demonstrator sitting on the seat of the Senate president, in scenes reminiscent of the storming of the Congressional Building in Washington by supporters of former US President Donald Trump in January 2021.

Supporters of former Brazilian President Bolsonaro storm government offices (Reuters)

take back control

The security forces regained control of the presidential palace, the headquarters of the parliament and the Supreme Court, and efforts to evacuate the political headquarters of the protesters called for resorting to federal forces by order of President da Silva.

The police also announced the summoning of additional forces from several states to support the security forces in the capital, while the federal police took over the investigation into the events.

The president vowed that the participants in storming public institutions would be held accountable, describing them as Nazis and fascists.

Da Silva said in a broadcast on his Twitter page that everyone knows that democracy was found to protect the right of expression and that it has mechanisms to protect institutions.

In turn, the Minister of Interior and Justice described the events that Brazil went through in the past hours as a failed coup attempt.

Security forces confront Bolsonaro supporters in front of the parliament building (Reuters)

The minister said that nearly 200 people have been arrested so far and the arrests are continuing, stressing that the authorities will charge those who participated in the raids with an attempted coup.

He added that an investigation had been opened to reveal all those involved in the raid, noting that all the photos would be analyzed to find them.

Dino also stated that the capital governor's performance will be investigated "and whether his failure was due to human error or deliberate design."

Late on Sunday, the Supreme Court dismissed the governor of Brasilia from office for a period of 90 days.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and TikTok to ban propaganda promoting a coup.

In the same context, Reuters reported that the Public Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant for the Minister of Public Security.

- Manifestações pacíficas, na format da lei, fazem parte da democracia.

Contudo, depredações e invasões de predios públicos como ocorridos no dia de hoje, assim como os praticados pela esquerda em 2013 and 2017, fogem à regra.

- Jair M. Bolsonaro 2 ️⃣ 2 ️⃣ (@jairbolsonaro) January 9, 2023

Bolsonaro responds

For his part, the former president rejected the accusations leveled against him by Da Silva.

Bolsonaro said in a tweet that peaceful demonstrations are part of democracy, but storming public buildings is a transgression, as he put it.

In international reactions, US President Joe Biden condemned what he described as an assault on democracy and the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil.

Biden said in a tweet that Brazilian democratic institutions have the full support of the United States, and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined, adding that he looks forward to continuing to work with President da Silva.

German Chancellor Olaf Schultz also denounced today what happened in Brazil, and said that the coordinated riots are an attack on democracy that cannot be tolerated.

"Violent attacks on democratic institutions are an attack on democracy that cannot be tolerated," he wrote in a tweet on Twitter, stressing that Germany stands with the current Brazilian president.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said today that he deplores any attempt to undermine the peaceful transfer of power and the democratic will of the Brazilian people.

Sunak wrote on Twitter that the new Brazilian president and his government "have the full support of the UK".