The still-uncertain consequences of Brazil’s January 8 riots, one year later

This Monday marks the anniversary of the January 8 attacks in Brasília. One year ago, hordes of radicalized far-right supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed and ransacked the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court building. 

Protesting unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, these extremists launched a desperate attempt to prevent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who had taken office just a week earlier, from governing — by setting the stage for the military to step in and restore Mr. Bolsonaro to power.

The rioters caused millions of reais in damage to public property and pushed Brazilian democracy to the brink in the most frontal attack on the rule of law since the end of the military regime in the 1980s.

The consequences of that fateful day continue to reverberate through Brazilian politics. 

The Supreme Court, celebrating the resistance of democracy in the face of putschism, has emphasized its “swift response” to the attack — which began while the riots were still unfolding. 

In the first year after the events of January 8, the Brazilian court system acted more quickly than American courts responded to the 2021 January 6 Capitol riots in Washington D.C., as Brazilian justices have already handed down several sentences against “rank-and-file” rioters.

Still, the major reforms that experts expected (and that they say are crucial to improving the functioning of Brazilian democracy) remain up in the air.

Additionally, it is unclear whether those who incited the angry far-right mob to attack democratic institutions (by pitting voters against the court system and spreading falsehoods about the electoral system) or those who organized the riots will be held accountable.

A look back at the January 8 riots and their aftermath

The January 8 riots were just another part of a crescendoing push to create chaos in Brazil after Jair Bolsonaro lost the October 2022 presidential election by a razor-thin margin. 

Following the presidential vote, Mr. Bolsonaro’s supporters tried to put the country in an economic chokehold by blocking highways vital to supply chains, while camping outside Army garrisons across the country calling for a military coup. One radical bunch even planned a bomb attack in Brasília.

Even before the election, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, the former president’s third-eldest son, issued a literal call to arms. “Have you bought a legal gun? Do you have a shooting range or practice at one? Then you’ve got to become a Bolsonaro volunteer,” he posted on X, then Twitter.

On January 8, 2023, Bolsonaro supporters marched toward a police barricade outside the Three Powers Square in Brasília, where Lula had his presidential inauguration just a week earlier. Many soon forced their way onto the ramp leading to the lobby of the Congress building.

Local authorities had planned to deal with the protests with a relatively small and minimally visible presence. They did nothing as the angry mob marched 6.5 kilometers from their meeting point to their destination.

As rioters broke through barricades, a handful of police officers responded with tear gas but were overwhelmed by the mob. Others simply watched as the incident descended into chaos. Some even took selfies as public buildings were vandalized.

On social media, far-right groups had used codewords to call for a massive demonstration in Brasília. These were used in Telegram and WhatsApp groups across the country, but also in the Miami and Orlando areas. Jair Bolsonaro was in Florida at the time.

While the rioters were still destroying public buildings, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who was already in charge of another investigation into anti-democratic acts, issued orders to change the police chain of command at the time — suspending...