Pro-Bolsonaro lawmakers still try to push for a ‘Brazilian January 6’

Senator Eduardo Girão, a staunch ally of President Jair Bolsonaro, was very clear at the beginning of a public hearing last Wednesday: “The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the Brazilian 2022 election.”

The election, however, is over. And it has been for more than a month. Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won and will take office on January 1. 

But for a long time, Mr. Bolsonaro’s allies have been working on a Brazilian version of Donald Trump’s ‘Big Lie,’ and the recent Senate hearing was one further step in that strategy. It featured explicit calls for a coup, serving as something of a planning meeting for a Brazilian January 6, broadcast live by the Senate’s cable TV and YouTube channels.

Far-right Congresswoman Aline Sleutjes of the southern state of Paraná was the most explicit: “We need to act fast,” she said. “On December 12, there is a certification ceremony that they want to happen.” 

Ms. Sleutjes was talking about Lula’s upcoming certification at the Superior Electoral Court, the final formal step before Inauguration Day. By using the third-person pronoun they, Ms. Sleutjes made clear her putschist intentions: after all, Lula will only be certified because he won the election.

“We can’t let things happen until December 12,” the congresswoman added. “We only have...