National Congress Palace

In the early 1900s, the Brazilian National Congress happened to be in separate buildings in Rio de Janeiro which was then the national capital. The Senate was located near Railway Central Station, beside the Republica Square, at Moncorvo Filho Street, where there is today a Federal University of Rio de Janeiro students' center. The Federal Chamber of Deputies was located at Tiradentes Palace, which would later be the location of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro. From the 1930s to early 1960s, the Senate occupied the Monroe Palace, which was demolished in the 1970s to allow the construction of the subway Cinelândia Station. The Federal Chamber of Deputies moved to Brasília in the early 1960s, a process that took years to complete.{{cite book |last1=Brawer |first1=Moshe |title=Atlas of South America |date=12 February 1992 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-12579-1 |page=112 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbuxCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 |language=en}}

Since the 1960s, the National Congress has been located in Brasília. As with most of the city's government buildings, the National Congress building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the Modernist style.https://www.archdaily.com/773568/ad-classics-national-congress-oscar-niemeyer

The semi-sphere on the left is the seat of the Senate, and the semi-sphere on the right is the seat of the Chamber of the Deputies. Between them are two vertical office towers. The Congress also occupies other surrounding office buildings, some of them interconnected by a tunnel.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}

The building is located in the middle of the Monumental Axis, the main street of Brasília. In front of it there is a large lawn where demonstrations take place. At the back of it, is the Praça dos Três Poderes ('Three Powers Plaza'), where lies the Palácio do Planalto and the Supreme Federal Court.

On 6 December 2007, the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage ({{lang|pt|Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional}}) designated the building of the National Congress as a historical heritage of the Brazilian people. The building has also been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of Brasília's original urban buildings, since 1987.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}

{{main article|Homicide at the Brazilian Senate}}

On 4 December 1963, in the floor of the Federal Senate, there was a homicide caused by senator Arnon de Melo (PDC-AL) who, trying to shoot at senator Silvestre Péricles (PSD-AL), hit the substitute senator José Kairala (PSD-SC).{{cite web|url=https://aventurasnahistoria.uol.com.br/noticias/reportagem/historia-arnon-de-mello-morte-senado.phtml|title=Há 56 anos, o pai de Fernando Collor matava um senador dentro do Congresso|website=Aventuras na História|language=pt-br|first=Rodrigo|last=Casarin|date=4 December 2019|accessdate=27 April 2023}}

{{main article|2023 Brazilian Congress attack}}

The attacks of 8 January 2023 in Brasília were a series of vandalisms, stormings and depredation of public property cause by thousands of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro{{cite web|url=https://www.estadao.com.br/politica/extremistas-bolsonaristas-articulavam-invasao-de-sedes-dos-tres-poderes-nas-redes-desde-3-de-janeiro/|title=Extremistas bolsonaristas articulavam invasão de sedes dos Três Poderes nas redes desde 3 de janeiro|website=Estadão|language=pt-br|first1=Levy|last1=Teles|first2=Marcelo|last2=Godoy|date=8 January 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023|url-access=subscription}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-64234271|title=Bolsonaristas já ganharam autonomia em relação a Bolsonaro, aponta antropóloga|website=BBC News Brasil|language=pt-br|first=Gerardo|last=Lissardy|date=11 January 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.metropoles.com/distrito-federal/extremistas-deixaram-rastro-de-10-toneladas-de-residuos-na-esplanada|title=Bolsonaristas extremistas deixaram rastro de 10 toneladas de resíduos na Esplanada|website=Metrópoles|language=pt-br|first=Francisco|last=Dutra|date=10 January 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023}} who stormed the Planalto Palace, the National Congress Palace and the Supreme Federal Court Palace{{cite web|url=https://www.metropoles.com/distrito-federal/bolsonaristas-extremistas-manifestacao-brasilia|title=Bolsonaristas invadem Congresso, Planalto e STF em manifestação antidemocrática|website=Metrópoles|language=pt-br|first1=Marcus|last1=Rodrigues|first2=Felipe|last2=Torres|first3=Matheus|last3=Garzon|first4=Carolina|last4=Cardoso|date=8 January 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023}} with the objective to instigate a military coup d'état against president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and restore Jair Bolsonaro as President of Brazil.

Around 13:00 (BRT), about 4,000 Bolsonaro supporters{{cite web|url=https://g1.globo.com/df/distrito-federal/noticia/2023/01/13/bolsonaristas-radicais-presos-em-brasilia-estavam-armados-com-estacas-estilingues-e-ferramentas-pontiagudas.ghtml|title=Bolsonaristas radicais presos em Brasília estavam armados com estacas, estilingues e ferramentas pontiagudas|website=G1|language=pt-br|first=Michele|last=Mendes|date=13 January 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023}} left the Brazilian Army Headquarters and marched towards the Three Powers Plaza,{{cite web|url=https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/geral/noticia/2023-01/acampamento-bolsonarista-foi-central-em-ataques-do-dia-8-de-janeiro|title=Acampamento bolsonarista foi central em ataques do dia 8 de janeiro|website=Agência Brasil|language=pt-br|first=Luciano|last=Nascimento|date=27 January 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023}} coming into conflict with the Military Police of the Federal District (PMDF) at the Monumental Axis. Before 15:00, the crowd broke the security barrier established by the security forces and occupied the ramp and roof of the National Congress Palace, while part of the group could storm and vandalize the Congress, the Planalto Palace and the Supreme Court Palace. President Lula and former president Bolsonaro were not present in Brasília during the storming. The Supreme Federal Court considered the storming as acts of terrorism.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-64218257|title=Por que invasões em Brasília são consideradas atos terroristas pelo STF|website=BBC News Brasil|language=pt-br|first=Letícia|last=Mori|date=9 January 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023}}

Governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha, informed that more than 400 people were arrested until 21:00. On the following day, around 1,200 people that were camping in front of the Army HQ were also arrested and taken by bus to the head office of the Federal Police. Until March 2023, 2,182 people were arrested for participating or having any kind of involvement in the attacks.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/politica/moraes-finaliza-analise-e-mantem-294-presos-por-atos-de-8-de-janeiro/|title=Moraes finaliza análise e mantém 294 presos por atos de 8 de janeiro|website=CNN Brasil|language=pt-br|first=Lucas|last=Mendes|date=16 March 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023}} Right after the events, Ibaneis Rocha fired the Public Security Secretary and former Minister of Justice of Bolsonaro administration, Anderson Torres, who was in Orlando during the stormings.{{cite web|url=https://www.metropoles.com/colunas/igor-gadelha/anderson-torres-viajou-para-orlando-na-vespera-das-invasoes|title=Anderson Torres viajou para Orlando na véspera das invasões|website=Metrópoles|language=pt-br|first=Igor|last=Gadelha|date=8 January 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023}} After that, justice of the Supreme Federal Court, Alexandre de Moraes, suspended Rocha from office for 90 days, decision revoked on 15 March.{{cite web|url=https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2023/03/moraes-determina-retorno-de-ibaneis-ao-governo-do-df.shtml|title=Moraes encurta afastamento e autoriza volta imediata de Ibaneis ao Governo do DF|website=Folha de S. Paulo|language=pt-br|first1=José|last1=Marques|first2=Thaísa|last2=Oliveira|date=15 March 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023|url-access=subscription}} After the attacks, president Lula signed a deccree authorizing a federal intervention in the Federal District until 31 January.

Government representatives criticized the event and stated that the responsible by the violent acts, as well as the funders and instigators, will be identified and punished. Leaders of many Brazilian parties criticized the invasion, considering it a serious attack against democracy and demanded the punishment of the responsibles. Many world leaders also condemned the invasion, expressing their solidarity with the Brazilian government. Many analysts compared the event with the United States Capitol storming in 2021 by Donald Trump supporters, who refused to accept his defeat in the elections. Many social movements called for protests against the invasion and in defense of democracy,{{cite web|url=https://www.poder360.com.br/brasil/movimentos-sociais-convocam-atos-em-favor-da-democracia/|title=Movimentos sociais convocam atos em favor da democracia|website=Poder360|language=pt-br|date=9 January 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023}} which took place on 9 January in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Recife, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte and other cities, gathering thousands of people.{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/pt-br/sem-anistia-milhares-vão-às-ruas-em-defesa-da-democracia/a-64333425|title="Sem anistia!": Milhares vão às ruas em defesa da democracia|website=Deutsche Welle|language=pt-br|date=10 January 2023|accessdate=27 April 2023}}

File:Obras do Congresso Nacional - BR RJANRIO PH 0 FOT 00742 0021, Acervo do Arquivo Nacional.jpg|The two domes have a gap connecting them to their respective plenaries. The span is visible in this picture of the building's construction.

File:Construção do Congresso Nacional 1959-2.jpg|Dome under construction, 1959

File:Construção de Brasília Congresso Nacional e Câmara dos Deputados 1959.jpg|Building of the Chamber of Deputies, 1959

File:Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (1956-1961) fora do Palácio da Alvorada - visita as obras da Praça dos Três Poderes, Brasília - Congresso Nacional (5).jpg|Juscelino Kubitschek visiting the works of the National Congress.

File:Congresso Nacional - Brasília.jpg|Chamber of Deputies - National Congress

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Category:Buildings and structures in Brasília

Category:Seats of national legislatures