Coup or no coup, the damage to Brazil is done

Since last week, the U.S. legislature has organized a series of public hearings to investigate former President Donald Trump’s attempt to subvert the 2020 elections — a push which culminated in Mr. Trump’s supporters violently storming the Capitol building in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021. 

Upon recalling the events of that day and, to some degree, discovering the extent of the actions that led to January 6, it becomes impossible for one’s thoughts not to stray to Brazil. 

The parallels are clear. Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has made no bones about his intention to reject any election result that does not favor him, nor has he shied from threats of violence — either by referring to the “Armed Populus,” or “[his] Armed Forces,” depending on the context. 

Like his American muse, Mr. Bolsonaro has never seemed fussed about revealing his designs. As a result, suggesting Brazil could see its own version of the January 6 Capitol riots has almost become cliche.

Nevertheless, it still feels that the dimension of the problem is underestimated in the Brazilian debate. I believe the impression remains that what happened in the Capitol, as shocking and unexpected as it was, was little more than a turbulent day, with few implications beyond the riot itself.

Footage of rioters dressed up in costumes, or others that appeared to be there just to take pictures, appears to persist in the Brazilian imagination of what occurred that day.

Brazil’s January 6

The parliamentary committee’s opening...