In a speech marking the anniversary of the January 8 riots in Brasília, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva confronted Bolsonarism — even as he refused to name his predecessor. The president said a coalition formed by “the majority of the Brazilian people,” officials, lawmakers, and “loyalist” members of the military ensured that democracy defeated authoritarianism.
One year ago, hordes of far-right supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed and ransacked the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court building. Protesting unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, these extremists launched a desperate attempt to prevent Lula, who had taken office just a week earlier, from governing — and setting the stage for the military to step in and restore Mr. Bolsonaro to power.
A file found in the email inbox of a Navy official contained a draft authorization for a military operation in Brasília, which would have placed the military in charge of security in the capital hours after the riots started.
In a ceremony held in Congress this Monday, Lula said that the “putschist former president” — a reference to his predecessor, Mr. Bolsonaro — plotted a coup attempt. “There’s no forgiveness for those who attack democracy,” Lula said, adding that impunity would contribute to “new terrorist acts.”
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes also said that a “coup attempt” on January 8 was frustrated and that democracy won. He added that “impunity does not represent peace” and that “all of those” responsible for the riots will be investigated, prosecuted, and held liable.
Justice Moraes then compared the January 8 rioters to Nazi Germany, by saying that “appeasement also does not represent peace nor unity” and that Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement with Adolf Hitler failed. He renewed his calls for further regulation of social media, saying that the “new extremist digital populism” employs the same methods once used by the Nazi and fascist regimes.
Justice Moraes added that Brazilians “are a single people,” an almost verbatim citation of a slogan in a government ad campaign.
The governor of Rio Grande do Norte, Fátima Bezerra, said that the January 8 riots were among the “most unfortunate pages” in Brazil’s contemporary history and stressed that they were not “a mere case of vandalism” or an isolated incident.
“Brazil and the world,” she said, followed the attacks on the country’s voting system and its voting machines and what she called a “true incitation” against the Supreme Court. Although she did not mention Mr. Bolsonaro by name, a campaign against both the electoral system and the Judicial branch was led by the former president throughout his term (2019-2022).
Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco announced the removal of crowd control barriers along the perimeter of Congress, fulfilling a promise that symbolizes that the building is “open to all.”
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