Brazil President Lula hints at inside job in the Brasilia riots

Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has hinted that the storming of the capital Brasilia by former president Jair Bolsonaro supporters on Sunday could have been an inside job.

"I am convinced that the door of the Planalto (presidential) palace was opened for people to enter because there are no broken doors. This means that someone facilitated their entry," said Lula while talking to the reporters on Thursday.

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The far-left leader added that a "thorough review" of palace staff had been ordered to substantiate the allegations.

"We will investigate calmly to see what really happened."

WATCH | Supporters of Brazil's Bolsonaro storm Presidential palace

What happened in Brazil?

Over the weekend, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stumbled into the capital city of Brasilia and attempted a coup to overturn the October election results.

The rioters, also referred to as "bolsonaristas" looted offices, destroyed public property, desecrated precious words of art and left ugly graffiti messages calling for a military coup to overthrow the Lula administration.

In pictures | A 'sad day' for Brazil as rioters storm government buildings

According to local media reports, over 1,000 rioters were arrested initially for storming the Supreme Court of Brazil, the National Congress of Brazil and the Planalto Presidential Palace.

Bolsonaro's unruly far-right supporters are following the line taken by their leader who believes that the presidential election was rigged against him as Lula won by a razor-thin margin.

The riots by Bolsonaro's supporters have drawn eerie similarities to the January 6 insurrection attempt by former US president Donald Trump's supporters in 2021.

Owing to the similarities, the Brazilian lawmakers are willing to join hands with their American counterparts to investigate the riots, according to a Reuters report.

Read more: US and Brazil lawmakers to join forces to investigate Brasilia riots: Report

The recently dissolved US House of Representatives select committee that released a report indicting Donald Trump of the January 6 Capitol Hill riots could help the Brazilian lawmakers investigate the events of Brasilia.

(With inputs from agencies)

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