Failed coup in Venezuela raises questions for Brazil

On Tuesday morning, opposition leaders in Venezuela carried out their boldest attempt yet to wrestle power away from the embattled President Nicolás Maduro. Juan Guaidó, the head of the National Assembly and the self-proclaimed “legitimate president” of Venezuela (who has the backing of over 50 countries, including Brazil and the U.S.), called for an armed national uprising to oust Mr. Maduro.

Protests kicked off in Caracas—sparking confrontations which resulted in four deaths, as of Thursday afternoon—but at the critical moment, security forces impeded Mr. Guaidó from marching on the presidential palace and the coup attempt fizzled out.

Fellow opposition leader Leopoldo López made a surprise public appearance alongside Mr. Guaidó on Tuesday, despite being under house arrest for the last two years. By the afternoon, he was forced to seek refuge in the Spanish embassy and Venezuelan courts have since issued a warrant for his arrest.

Brazil was not taken aback by the attempted putsch, as officials of the Lima Group (the Latin American multilateral body established in 2017 to negotiate an...