Explaining Brazil #266: The end of the January 8 hearings

Congress decided to investigate the January 8 riots in Brasília. The probe promised to identify those who ransacked government buildings, as well as the people who incited and financed these actions — but it is ending in a damp squib.

Marred by culture wars and political bickering, the committee failed to bring any major breakthroughs in the investigation.

It began as a Trojan Horse by the far-right, which expected to use the committee as a way to change perceptions around January 8. Once the government secured control over the majority of the committee’s seats, the far-right opposition focused more on preventing any progress in the investigations.

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This episode used music from Uppbeat and Envato. License codes: Aspire by Pryces (B6TUQLVYOWVKY02S), Documentary Piano by plaincask (5CB8W4ZUPF), Adventure Thriller by AlexanderRufire (HWFD5C8) and Political Documentary Tension by NikiNPhaser (A4VKBCQ).

In this episode:

• Cedê Silva is The Brazilian Report’s correspondent in Brasília.

Background reading:

• January 8 hearings issue final report, placing blame for riots on Bolsonaro, Cedê Silva writes. The report recommended police investigate over 60 people, including senior former government officials who served under Jair Bolsonaro and the former president himself.
• Opposition lawmakers at the congressional hearing committee created to investigate the January 8 riots in Brasília presented on Tuesday afternoon an “alternative” report with their own conclusions about the events of that day. The document amounts to something very close to a piece of fiction.
• The congressional inquiry into the Brasília riots has petered out and is likely to end with no major consequence. After the initial furor, neither the government nor the opposition seems keen to follow the money or go after the big fish.
• New data shared exclusively with The Brazilian Report shows that threats to democracy do not come exclusively from the far-right.

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• #brasília
• #congress
• #jairBolsonaro
• #january8
• #lula