These are scenes that “hauntingly evoke the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising on Capitol Hill in Washington by supporters of former President Donald Trump,” he said. the washington post. In Brazil, the security forces regained control of the presidential palace, the Congress and the Supreme Court invaded Sunday, January 8 in Brasilia by hundreds of anti-Lula demonstrators, according to the Minister of Justice and Security Flavio Dinosaur.
More than 300 people were arrested and the General Prosecutor’s Office demanded the immediate opening of investigations to establish “the responsibility of those involved” in the attack on official buildings, which occurred a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to succeed Jair Bolsonaro.
The area had been cordoned off by the authorities. But the bolsonarists, for many dressed in the yellow jersey of the Seleçao, the Brazilian football team, a symbol that they appropriated, managed to force the security cordons. They caused considerable damage to the three huge palaces, which are treasures of modern architecture and are full of works of art.
In the United States, far-right sympathizers who applaud these insurgencies
Videos from inside Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential offices quickly filled social media feeds, showing protesters carrying their national flags and trudging through the halls of power, unsure of what to do next. Videos have also circulated on social networks showing ransacked offices of parliamentarians. A demonstrator sat on the seat of the president of the Senate, a striking mimicry with the rioters supporters of the former American president.
US President Joe Biden has deemed the violence of Bolsonarist protesters “scandalous”, in a direct reaction during a trip to Texas, before leaving for Mexico. In a tweet, he then “condemned” this “attack on democracy and the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. The democratic institutions of Brazil have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined”, added Joe Biden, saying he is “looking forward” to working with President Lula.
Some far-right sympathizers in the United States, however, applauded these insurgencies, observes the New York Times. They posted videos of the riots and called the protesters “patriots” trying to uphold Brazil’s constitution. Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, called the protesters “Brazilian freedom fighters” in a post on social media. Steve Bannon had close ties with one of the sons of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, recalls the American daily.
“They refuse to accept electoral defeat”
For the washington post, this attack constitutes “the most significant threat to democracy in the largest country in Latin America since the military coup of 1964”. It “suggests the spread of a scourge of far-right disruptors in Western democracies, as hardliners, radicalized by incendiary political rhetoric, refuse to accept electoral defeat, cling to allegations of unfounded fraud and undermine the rule of law”.
The daily draws “the strange parallel” between Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump, “his political muse”. Indeed, experts have been warning for months of the possibility of such action. For months before the election, Jair Bolsonaro called Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a corrupt “thief” and claimed without evidence that Brazil’s electronic voting machines were untrustworthy. Since his defeat, he has condemned violent protests, but called the election result unfair and encouraged protest camps outside military installations.
Asked by the washington post, Robert Muggah, co-founder of the Igarapé Institute think tank in Rio de Janeiro, describes the “explosion of mob violence” as a “predicted insurrection”. “The similarities between the Brazilian far-right crowds storming Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace with the Capitol uprising on January 6 are no coincidence,” he explained. “Like their ‘Make America Great Again’ counterparts, Jair Bolsonaro supporters have been fed a constant diet of misinformation for years, much of it inspired by the narratives of far-right influencers in the United States. United.”