One week after 77-year-old Lula da Silva was inaugurated Jan. 1 as Brazil’s president for the second time, supporters of 67-year-old former conservative President Jair Bolsonaro claimed the election was rigged, much like 76-year-old former President Donald Trump. Unlike Jan. 6, 2021 when right wing groups stormed the U.S. Capitol, no elected Brazilian elected official claims protesters tried to overthrow the Brazilian government. Protesters stormed the Brazilian Congress, High Court and presidential palace, scaling walls, breaking through barricades and destroying property. Lula was in Sao Paulo at the time of the attack, saying very little about protesters attempt to reinstate Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, like Trump, claims the da Silva’s supporters stole the election through some kind of election fraud. President Joe Biden, 80, called riots in Brazilian “outrageous.”
Biden, together with Democrats and the press, blamed Trump for the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots, finding every excuse to blame Trump for the riots. Doubtful in Brazil that Bolsonsaro will be charged with planning or orchestrating the riots the left Brazil’s government in chaos. With da Silva only in power for one week, it’s going to be difficult for Brazilian authorities to restore order with such large numbers of protesters. Unlike the Capitol Hill riots, Brazilians are genuinely unhappy seeing that 77-year-old socialist Lula returned to power. Bolsonsaro was demonized in Brazil’s social press, largely comparing him to Trump. Yet like Trump Bolosonaro’s following is far removed from today’s Brazilian politics, far more to the left dealing with widespread poverty for largely the non-white population. Brazilian authorities managed to regain control of Brazil’s government offices.
Unlike U.S. authorities Jan. 6, Brazil managed to disperse the rabble rousers, something Washington, D.C. and Capitol police could not do. D.C. and Capitol police showed they were unprepared for any serious type of crowd control, looking to Trump to order in the National Guard. But in the U.S., the FBI admitted their Norfolkd, Va. Office gave D.C. and Capitol Hill police advance warning about the possibility of riots on Jan. 6. So in a more impoverished country like Brazil, how were they able to clear the rabble-rousers out of the government offices? House Democrats blamed Trump for the riots, accusing him of planning and orchestrating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Brazilian authorities no doubt will blame Bolsonsaro for organizing today’s revolts. Protesters loyal to Bolsonsaro wore green-and-yellow outfits, carrying Brazilian flags while they ransacked the government buildings.
Like the Jan. 6 rioters, Brazilian protesters used poles and sticks, erecting barricades to prevent police from breaking up the demonstrations. No one knows the extent of arrests in Brazilia but police did mange to clear all government offices of Bolsonaro’s protesters. Bolsonsaro refused to denounce Russian President Vladimir Putin for his war in Ukraine, buying more crude oil from Moscow than before the Feb. 24 invasion. Taking about three hours to regain control, Branzilian authorities showed how to set down a dangerous riot. How many protesters were arrested by Brazilian authorities were unknown, even after they cleared the government buildings. Government offices were not occupied or operation at the times of the protests, leaving a different set of motives in question. Hundreds of trespassing-riolters were arrested today by Brazilian authorities to regain order.
Da Silva condemned the protest in the strongest possible terms, ordering authorities to arrest hundreds of demonstrators. “Whoever did this will be found and punished,” da Silva said in Sao Paulo. “Democracy guarantees the right to free expression, but it also requires people to respect institutions. There is no precedent in the history of the country what they did today. For that they must be punished,” da Silva said, following the same path as U.S. authorities that have thrown the book and Jan. 6 protesters. Bolsonaro lost a close election to da Silva in December, prompting accusations of voter fraud and nationwide protests. Bolsonaro denounced the angry protests, saying breaking Brazilian laws is not tolerated. Biden condemned the Brazilian riots as “the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil,” reflecting the parallel to Jan. 6, 2021.
Lula told the Brazilian people that the will of free elections must be preserved in Brazil’s orderly democracy. “Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not b e undermined,” said President da Silva. European Union’s 75-year-old High Representative Josep Borrell condemned the unlawful protests. “Brazilian democracy will prevail over acts of violence and extremism,” Borrell said. With a war in Ukraine raging in Europe, Borrell and other EU leaders are not to condemn violent protests. Chilean President Gabriel Boric called on Brazil to resist “cowardly and vile attack on democracy.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for an urgent meeting of the Organization of American States [OAS] to address violent protests in Brasilia. Revolutionary movements have done their share of damage in Latin American countries.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
