Brazil is reeling this morning…
Hundreds of supporters of the country’s ex leader Jair Bolsonaro stormed the seats of power in Brasilia, trashing offices and drawing condemnation from around the world.
A week after the inauguration of Lula da Silva, who returned to power after a 12-year hiatus following a victory over Bolsonaro in a runoff election last October.
Yesterday’s events bore similarities to the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington DC, when supporters of ex-US President Donald Trump – a close ally of Bolsonaro – stormed Congress in an effort to prevent the certification of his election defeat.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted,
Nearly 2 years to the day the US Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist movements abroad attempt to do the same in Brazil.
We must stand in solidarity with @LulaOficial’s democratically elected government.
The riot followed months of incendiary remarks from Bolsonaro about the legitimacy of Brazil’s elections and of Lula’s electoral victory. Trump and Bolsonaro used eerily similar playbooks before, during and after their electoral defeats, leading to concerns in each country about how robustly their electoral processes and democratic institutions would hold up.
But lawmakers were not present when protesters charged major government buildings and Bolsonaro was not even in the country. You can read more here.
Nearly 2 years to the day the US Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist movements abroad attempt to do the same in Brazil.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 8, 2023
We must stand in solidarity with @LulaOficial’s democratically elected government. 🇧🇷
The US must cease granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida. https://t.co/rzsZl9jwZY
The violent attack on the heart of the Brazilian government by right-wing extremists is a sad but familiar sight.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) January 8, 2023
We stand with the people of Brazil and democracy.
🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
