Tens of thousands of people staged pro-democracy rallies in Brazil, in an angry reaction to the riots on Congress by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
In Sao Paulo, the country’s largest city, crowds chanted that Mr. Bolsonaro should go to jail.
Around 1,500 people have been detained over Sunday’s riots in the capital, Brasilia.
They come a week after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in after October elections that divided Brazil.
On Monday evening, the 77-year-old new leader – widely known as Lula – visited the damaged buildings of Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court, together with the country’s governors, of “terrorist acts”. Condemned and vowed to punish the culprits.
Mr Bolsonaro, 67, has not conceded defeat in the closely contested election, and moved to the US ahead of the January 1 handover. On Monday, he was admitted to a Florida hospital with abdominal pain.
Street rallies were held in several cities and towns on Monday.
The turnout at the Sao Paulo demonstration was impressive, JEE News reports from the city. A section of Paulista Avenue, Brazil’s most famous street, was closed off as crowds filled the area, singing, dancing and chanting for justice.
Many came dressed in red, the color of Lula’s Workers’ Party. Others waved placards reading “No amnesty for rioters” and called for those responsible to be punished. “Jail for Bolsonaro” chants were also raised.
“I don’t agree with what happened in Brasilia – it was a nightmare. I don’t agree with people who believe that with democracy you can use your power to destroy democracy,” he said. Gabriel, who gave only his first name, said JEE News.
“I want to show the world and my country that even though there are thousands of people who believe that the elections were not valid, here in Brazil, we have a large number of people who believe that we can trust our government. “There are, we can trust. In our democracy,” he said.
Another protester, Marina RodrÃguez Carmona, told JEE News: “Polarization is a big problem – everyone has their own views, and I don’t think there is much communication between the two sides.”
However, there was a heavy police presence. Sometimes the atmosphere feels tense. Our correspondent says that people are still processing what happened in Brasilia and many people’s nerves have not yet calmed down.
Dramatic scenes in Brasilia on Sunday saw thousands of protesters dressed in yellow Brazil soccer shirts and flags overwhelm police and rampage through the heart of the Brazilian state.
Lula was forced to declare emergency powers.
On Monday morning, heavily armed officers began breaking up an encampment of Mr. Bolsonaro’s supporters in Brasilia, one of those set up outside military barracks across the country since the hard-fought presidential election. There is one.
