MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. Deputy speaker of Russia’s upper parliament house, the Federation Council, Konstantin Kosachev said on Monday he thinks that the riots in Brazil are not a systemic phenomenon but are rather emotionally-driven and do not threaten to destabilize the country.
"I think that the January unrest is not a systemic but rather an emotional phenomenon. It looks like a group of radicals managed to entice the crowd to follow them. As far as can be judged from Moscow, it is a one-time outburst and does not threaten to destabilize the country," he said in an interview with the Parliamentary Newspaper.
According to the senior lawmaker, it is important that the rioters were not supported by the army, although, in his words, "someone was counting on that." He also said he was convinced that someone organized the unrest in Brazil but "there was not a single control center." "By the way, Bolsonaro has distanced himself from the protesters. Yes, there are some activists who are in opposition to the new president. Yes, they can organize mass actions, including illegal ones. But that is not enough to stage a coup. So, even if we look at the January developments as a state coup attempt, we should admit that it was a failed attempt," he said.
Brazil’s legitimate authorities have maintained their positions, so "any impact of the riots on relations with Russia or Brazil’s other partners are excluded," he said. "Lula da Silva is a legitimate president and will implement his election program. And the bulk of it is about returning Brazil to the international political arena. And we can hope that it will positively influence Brazil’s activities within BRICS and in bilateral relations with Russia.
The riots, in his words, reflect the state of Brazilian society, "which is profoundly split now," as the gap of two million votes in a country with a population of nearly 215 million is too narrow. "I would also like to note that the opposing parts of Brazilian society are strongly polarized: Lula’s and Bolsonaro’s programs are two opposite ideologies," Kosachev noted, adding that the presidential elections in October 2022 were fair, with "no claims about the vote count, except for emotional ones, being laid." "The losing candidate, Bolsonaro, recognized the voting results, although through clenched teeth, and the inauguration on January 1 was held in a civilized manner, with no one challenging Lula da Silva’s right to take the presidential office," the politician added.
Supporters of Brazil’s former leader Jair Bolsonaro staged clashes with the police in the country’s capital of Brasilia on Sunday and broke into the buildings of the National Congress (parliament), the presidential palace and the Supreme Court. The few security guards at the administrative buildings, which were empty on the non-working day, failed to rebuff the protesters who refused to recognize the results of the October presidential polls. According to preliminary data, about 5,000 people took part in the riots.
Law enforcement forces dropped smoke bombs and tear gas grenades from helicopters to disperse the protesters. The police were able to retake control of the buildings and the rioters were pushed out of the central part of the city. More than 400 people were arrested. The rioters may face up to 12 years in prison. No official data on possible casualties is available so far. The local media say that the plunderers may have damaged or stolen various objects of art of historical value.
Socialist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in a runoff presidential election, took office as President of Brazil on January 1. The gap between the two was about 2 million votes. The ex-leader did not concede defeat, and Bolsonaro supporters flooded the streets and garrisons of the armed forces, seeking to prevent Lula da Silva from taking office. The former Brazilian president left for the United States in late December 2022.