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Brazil's Lula accuses Bolsonaro of inciting violence in capital after election loss

Wednesday, 14 December 2022 6:39 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 14 December 2022 7:05 PM ]

Bolsonaro supporters face off officers outside the police headquarters in Brasilia, Brazil. (File hoto by Reuters)

Brazil’s President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has accused far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro of inciting violence following violent pro-Bolsonaro demonstrations in the capital Brasilia where vehicles were torched and clashes took place with police.

Lula, who is due to be inaugurated on January 1, told a news conference on Wednesday that the outgoing president "still hasn't recognized his defeat, and continues inciting these fascist activists protesting in the street."

"He's following the same script as all the world's fascists."

Bolsonaro supporters set buses on fire in central Brasilia and attempted to raid the headquarters of the federal police on Monday night.

The violence erupted hours after Brazil's top electoral court officially certified Lula as the winner of the October elections. The ruling put the final seal on the veteran leftist's victory over Bolsonaro.

The Supreme Court recently ordered the arrest of a pro-Bolsonaro indigenous leader, Jose Acacio Serere Xavante, on charges of threatening the democratic rule of law. Serere Xavante was accused of organizing "anti-democratic" protests around the capital, including outside the hotel where Lula is staying.

Bolsonaro supporters have been on the streets ever since his loss in the October 30 run-off. They want the military to intervene to keep him in power.

Lula defeats Bolsonaro to win third term as Brazil's president

Leftist former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva won Brazil

Lula, 77, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, has compared the outgoing president to fellow far-right leaders in Italy, France, Hungary and the United States.

Lula's incoming justice minister has vowed to prosecute the protesters who caused damage and violently torched cars and buses in Brasilia on Monday.

There would be no "magic amnesty" for authorities who failed to contain the rioters, Flavio Dino, said in an interview with the GloboNews television channel.

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