10 Jan 2023

Brazil president vows to punish rioters

From Morning Report, 8:23 am on 10 January 2023

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Brazil's president has vowed to punish supporters of former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, after they stormed Congress and the Supreme Court in the capital. 

The attack had eerie echos of what happened in the US when Donald Trump lost the election two years ago.

Security forces have regained control of areas around government buildings, and have detained 1500 demonstrators. 

They've been protesting against the inauguration, eight days ago, of the new president, the left-wing Lula da Silva, claiming his election victory was fraudulent.

As chaos was wreaked in Brasilia, President Lula took to television, and in a live broadcast said the rioters would face the full force of the law. 

As for those Bolsonaro supporters, well, despite the clear evidence of some hooliganism, these two protesters insist they've been demonstrating peacefully.

Our Latin America correspondent Mary Triny Mena spoke to Charlotte Cook.