U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday condemned “the assault on democracy” in Brazil after supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded the country’s Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court.
Biden said he looked forward to continuing to work with leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in the most fraught election in a generation last year.
“I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined,” Biden said on Twitter.
Earlier on Sunday, Biden said the situation in Brazil was “outrageous.”
The violence echoed the U.S. Capitol invasion two years ago by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The sight of thousands of yellow-and-green clad protesters running riot in the capital capped months of tension following Brazil’s Oct. 30 vote. Bolsonaro, an acolyte of Trump’s who has yet to concede defeat, peddled the false claim that Brazil’s electronic voting system was prone to fraud, spawning a violent movement of election deniers.
