ORLANDO, Fla.—President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
laid much of the blame for the rioting that ransacked government buildings on his predecessor: a right-wing populist who has recently been seen thousands of miles away in Florida munching on fried chicken.
“There are several speeches by the former president encouraging this,” Mr. da Silva said in a Sunday night television address of his conservative rival,
Jair Bolsonaro,
the former president. “This is also his responsibility and of those who support him. All of this will be investigated very strongly and quickly.”
A day after a mob attacked the presidential palace, Supreme Court and Congress, Mr. Bolsonaro is facing pressure at home and abroad by people who accuse him of inflaming his most determined supporters after narrowly losing to Mr. da Silva in last year’s election, the most polarizing vote since Brazil’s return to democracy in the 1980s.
Mr. Bolsonaro condemned the riots on Twitter as Brazilian authorities on Monday arrested hundreds of people and officials opened investigations into the attack, pledging to find out who might have financed it. The former president repudiated Mr. da Silva’s accusations, saying he has adhered to the constitution.
“Peaceful demonstrations, within the law, are part of democracy,” Mr. Bolsonaro said on Twitter Sunday night, referring to previous waves of protests in the country. “However, vandalism and the invasion of public buildings like today’s acts, and like those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, are an exception.”
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