Works of art destroyed, equipment and computer equipment ransacked: Brazilian Minister of Communications Paulo Pimenta gave an overview of the damage caused to the Planalto Palace on Sunday, January 8, after the storming of places of power in Brasilia by the supporters of the country’s recently ousted ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.
“Fascist vandals”: what we know about the pro-Bolsonaro assault in Brasilia
Paintings of inestimable value were damaged, including “the Mulattoes”, by the modernist painter Di Cavalcanti, exhibited in the Presidential Palace and pierced with several holes, according to images circulating on social networks:
Mimicry with the assault on the Capitol
Videos have also circulated on social networks showing ransacked offices of parliamentarians. A demonstrator sat on the seat of the president of the Senate, a striking mimicry with the rioters supporters of ex-president Donald Trump who had invaded the Capitol two years ago.
The judicial authorities in Brazil have launched the first investigations to determine the responsibilities of this storming by the supporters of the former far-right leader while after several hours of chaos, the police have resumed control of the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court.
More than 300 people were arrested and the general prosecutor’s office requested the immediate opening of investigations to establish “responsibility of those involved” in attacking official buildings. The current Head of State, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, for his part denounced the fact of putschists.
