How a far right assault on Brazil’s democracy failed

When the Guardian’s Tom Phillips toured the presidential palace in Brasília on Monday, he witnessed utter devastation. He tells Michael Safi of multimillion-dollar works of art destroyed, a copy of the constitution defaced, furniture wrecked and human waste everywhere. But the pro-Jair Bolsonaro rioters who stormed Brazil’s democratic institutions on Sunday ultimately failed in their attempt to topple the new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and hundreds have since been arrested.

However, troubling questions remain: how did the mob get into what should have been highly protected state buildings? How was the riot organised without being disrupted by the security forces? After being sworn in to office less than a fortnight ago, who can Lula trust?

Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

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