Since the 2022 presidential election was called in favor of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday, groups supporting President Jair Bolsonaro have been blocking highways in hundreds of locations across the country.
Consisting mostly of small groups of dozens of people in each location, the protests are anti-democratic by definition, demanding the military launch a coup to cancel the election result and keep Mr. Bolsonaro in power. Footage from a protest in Brazil’s South even showed some groups making what appeared to be Nazi salutes.
In a country as dependent on highways for cargo transportation as Brazil, blocking roads can quickly impose a heavy toll on the economy. Factories have slowed down, farmers are unable to ship their produce, gas stations face shortages in multiple regions, and the consumer goods sector (still reeling from the effects of Covid) believes that this year’s blockades could be even worse than the 2018 truckers’ strike.
While the anti-democratic overtones in these protests must not be understated, the aftermath of Sunday’s elections is missing an ingredient many had anticipated: widespread violent movements challenging the results.
These fears were instilled by a cocktail Jair Bolsonaro brought to Brazilian politics, of conspiracy theories, reduced gun controls, and heightened polarization.
As polls showed Lula ahead in the runoff, political observers and power brokers feared a Brazilian imitation of the U.S. Capitol invasion — fears stoked when hardcore pro-Bolsonaro...
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