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On January 8, supporters of Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the presidential palace, parliament and the Supreme Court, demanding a coup to restore him to power.
So-called “Bolsonalistas” smashed windows and furniture in the Supreme Court building. They climbed onto the roof of the parliament building and unfurled a banner reading “Intervention”. They vandalized and stole works of art and broke glass panels. They walked around the presidential palace chanting pro-Bolsonaro slogans. They pulled him off his horse and threw him to the ground.
These shocking scenes in Brasilia were eerily similar to what we witnessed at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. At that time, seats in Congress were invaded by ardent supporters of President Donald Trump.
And the similarities between the two events were no coincidence.
It is well known that Bolsonaro is an admirer of the former US president and regularly borrows from his populist tactics. Bolsonaro’s son, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, traveled to the US to meet with Trump last November. While there, he also made his father’s possible next move after losing the presidency to former Trump advisers Stephen Bannon and Jason Miller and left-wing rival Lula de Silva. They reportedly discussed steps.
Bolsonaro’s supporters refuse to accept the results of a legitimate election and their attempt to force their beloved leader back into power mirrors the scenario that played out in the United States almost exactly two years ago. , but there were some important differences between what happened. In Washington and Brasilia – and those differences may mean that Brazil will have a much harder time than the United States to heal its democracy.
The first and most obvious difference is that in the US, the Trump supporters’ riots have only targeted the Capitol. But in Brazil, the Bolsonalistas also attacked the Supreme Court. Of course, this should come as no surprise, as Bolsonaro spent most of his presidency accusing Brazil’s Supreme Court justices of being bigoted and plotting against him. bottom.
Another, perhaps most important, difference between events in the United States and Brazil was the way security forces responded.
In the United States, despite initial failures, security forces have not hesitated to take action against violent protesters, with the military actually supporting calls for a coup against the newly elected president. There was never any doubt that it was possible. However, in Brazil it proved to be much more difficult to ascertain where the loyalties of the security forces lie.
Sunday’s violent “protests” in Brasilia were not surprising. The “Bolsonalista” has been sharing posts about breaking parliament on WhatsApp and his Telegram channel since at least January 3, and has tens of thousands of followers. It was also publicly known that radical Bolsonaro supporters across the country rented buses and were widely discussed on social media. Go to Brasilia to participate in violent insurgency.
Despite all this, and undoubtedly recognizing the harsh criticisms faced by their U.S. counterparts for their lack of preparation for the events of January 6, Brazilian security forces continued Sunday’s counterattack. It appears that no action was taken to prepare for democratic action. It shows that the military is supporting the attack.
Since Bolsonaro’s election defeat, the military has turned a blind eye to Bolsonalistas encamping around the barracks and calling for a coup. He was seen smiling, taking pictures, and happily communing with those attacking Brazil’s most important democratic institutions.
The collusion between the FD police and the Bolsonalistas on January 8 was so obvious that Federal Governor Ibaneis Rocha publicly apologized to President Lula, Supreme Court Chief Justice Rosa Webber, and congressional leaders Arthur Lira and Rodrigo Pacheco. I felt the need to. It happened that day in the capital. He also dismissed DF Security Chief Anderson Torres, who previously served as Bolsonaro’s Minister of Justice and is seen by many as responsible for the FD police’s pampering of violent Bolsonalistas.
But this last-minute attempt by Governor Rocha to prove his loyalty to Brazil’s democratic institutions was not enough to save his job and prevent the federal government from interfering in the affairs of the FD. . In recent days, the Supreme Court decided to remove him from office for 90 days, and President Lula appointed a federal representative to guard the FD for his 30 days.
The question on everyone’s mind now is how will Lula secure the future of his young government, protect Brazil’s fragile democracy and prevent further social unrest?
The Bolsonalistas, on the other hand, show no signs of retreating. Just a day after the Jan. 8 incident, they set tires on fire and blocked busy roads in São Paulo and attempted to block access to oil refineries in other states.
Many in Brazil, such as sociologist Celso Rocha de Barros, believe that Lula’s only option in the face of such shameless and relentless far-right attacks on his government is to “denounce the coup as a democratic Start a dialogue with the right wing and send the fascists to prison.”
The Lula government has already done everything it takes to identify and punish everyone in power, from local governments to the military, who are believed to have supported violent attacks against the three factions of the republic. said to do. A new dialogue with the right-wingers who condemned Sunday’s events is also likely to begin soon. Lula has been able to win support from several center-right parties that have been close to Bolsonaro in the past.
But time will tell if these moves will be enough to repair broken democracies and unite divided peoples.
Many believe that the Lula government will emerge from this turmoil and become even more powerful than before. For example, journalist and digital citizenship expert Madeleine Laxko said she believes the right wing in Brazil has basically “committed suicide.” Meanwhile, Marcos Cavalcanti of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro said he believed Lula’s political appeal would be strengthened by clarifying the democratic response to the Bolsonalista crimes.
But even those who think Lula can use Sunday’s events to strengthen and expand her government’s support base are embracing the disloyalty displayed by security forces that day and are deeply concerned.
Indeed, when faced with anti-democratic and violent attacks from the far right, the Brazilian state can no longer rely on its security forces. Rising support for far-right ideologies within the military and other security forces poses a great danger to the future of Brazil’s democracy.
Now that the truth is out, in addition to punishing responsible individuals and seeking to build new bridges with the democratically-minded right wing, the Lula government is criticizing Bolsonaro’s ideological grip on Brazil’s powerful security apparatus. You must take immediate action against any
The fact is that in a civil unrest scenario, Brazil’s security forces can no longer be trusted. This means that those who support democracy must come together and start looking for new ways to ensure the security and stability of Brazil’s democratic system.
T.The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial attitude of Al Jazeera.
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