ROSEAU, Dominica, Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Monday condemned last week’s storming of the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court in Brazil, warning, “we are beginning to see a metastasizing of such tendencies in many of our nations.
“It is unacceptable that some forces in many nations continue to peddle the notion that any election they lose is not proper, even though there is no evidence to support their claims,” Skerrit told a news conference here.
On January 8, supporters of Brazilian far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro who refused to accept his electoral defeat, stormed the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court in Brasilia’s capital.
Videos on social media showed them smashing windows and furniture in the National Congress and Supreme Court buildings. They later climbed onto the roof of the Congress building, where Brazil’s Senate and Chamber of Deputies conduct their legislative business, unfurling a banner that read “intervention” and an apparent appeal to Brazil’s military.
Security forces used tear gas to push back the demonstrators, with local media estimating about 3,000 people were involved in the incident.
Responding to the invasion, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared a federal security intervention in Brasilia that will remain in place until the end of the month. He blamed Bolsonaro and complained about a lack of security in the capital, saying authorities had allowed “fascists” and “fanatics” to wreak havoc.
“These vandals, who we could call fanatical Nazis, fanatical Stalinists … fanatical fascists, did what has never been done in the history of this country,” said Lula, who was on an official trip to Sao Paulo state at the time of the insurrection.
“All these people who did this will be found, and they will be punished,” he added.
Skerrit told reporters that a “mob” had “unleashed mayhem, invading and ransacking Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential offices, intending to spur military leaders to topple the duly elected government of President Lula De Silva.
“Dominica stands in full solidarity with the government and people of Brazil. We are in lockstep with the international community in our unequivocal condemnation of attempts by antidemocratic forces in that country to undermine the people’s will.”
Skerrit said that these ongoing efforts to destabilize the government of Brazil “shall not stand, and the full extent of the law must be used to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“This movement, inspired by antidemocratic leaders and fed by conspiracy theories, remains a grave threat to democracy – not just in Brazil, but throughout the Americas.
“We are beginning to see a metastasizing of such tendencies in many of our nations, big and small, underlying the need for each of us to be vigilant in the defense and protection of our democracies, guided by fully established norms and the rule of law,” Skerrit told reporters.
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