Everything You Need to Know About Brazil's Attempted Insurrection & Why It Matters

In October 2022, Lula da Silva won a run-off election against incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil that led him back to the presidential seat he hadn't seen in 12 years. The months that followed, leading up to the inauguration, were filled with the supporters of Bolsonaro making their resentments of Lula heard, intensifying as time passed. Then, on January 8th, those supporters took action and stormed the seats of power in Brazil.

Rioter draped in Brazilian flag breaks window of building with metal barricade section. [Photo Credit: ABC News]

Footage from the event shows massive crowds in Brasília walking up a ramp to the congressional building, eventually reaching the Green Room, which is located directly outside the lower House of Congress. Other footage shows rioters entering the Supreme Court and presidential palace, where they were met by anti-riot law enforcement and the Brazilian Armed Forces.

Security footage from inside the building show protestors destroying artwork and attempting to set the carpet on fire [which activated the sprinkler system]. Some even took the liberty of taking gifts received from international delegations.

Anti-Riot police meet protestors inside congressional building. [Photo Credit: AP News]

By Sunday evening---several hours after the breach---all protestors had been cleared from the premises with over 400 arrests being made in conjunction with the day's events.

Brazilian Federal District Governor Ibaneis Rocha tweeted shortly after, saying that those arrested "will pay for the crimes committed" and that he and investigators are "working to identify all the others who participated in these terrorist acts." However, only hours after the tweet, Rocha was suspended from his post for 90 days by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

At this point---if you're an American reading this---it's likely that you're feeling at least a slight sense of deja vu. But the abstract connections to the US' January 6th Insurrection aren't the only connections.

Even during the campaign preceding the election, Bolsonaro's campaign had the central motif of unfounded claims of election fraud. Additionally, he consistently referred to negative press coverage as "fake news" and insisted that any polling that showed favor to Lula was rigged or untrustworthy. However, in November the Ministry of Defense released a report that concluded no fraud or inconsistency had occurred during the electoral process. And, much like the MAGA supporters in America, Bolsonaro's supporters didn't really care that no evidence existed to support their grievances, and they never backed down.

Camps of Bolsonaro supporters appeared shortly after his defeat that were big enough for Justice Minister Dino to authorize armed forces to set up barriers and guard the congressional building. And this was not the first time Bolsonaro's supporters have clashed with law enforcement. On December 12, they attempted to rush the federal police headquarters. And on Christmas Day, a man was arrested for attempting to set off a bomb, Justice Dino tweeted that the camps had become "incubators of terrorists."

And even after the electoral court of Brazil rejected Bolsonaro's request on January 4 to annul votes, he still refused to explicitly concede defeat. On the eve of Lula's inauguration, he fled Brazil and has been in Florida ever since---sound like anyone else you know?

In both scenarios, the riots drew condemnation around the globe and failed to actually impact the elections in question. However, unlike in the US, Brazil's attempted insurrection occurred following the inauguration of Lula, leaving no process to be disrupted or action that could be interrupted to prevent Lula from his seat.

All of this matters because it shows the rising support of fascism around the world. While these are ultimately failed attempts, they come at the same time that Italy has elected Georgia Meloni as their prime minister. Despite the progressive angle of her being the first woman to hold that office, she is anything but progressive being, herself, part of the Brothers of Italy party---a party she founded, with a particular infatuation with Benito Mussolini.

For this reason, the investigations into and any forthcoming legal action is of utmost importance, not just within the United States, but around the world. We'll continue to cover the important events regarding the development of this story---and others regarding global fascism---as it happens.