In Brazil, Jan. 6 Fell on the 8th This Year

January 9, 2023 4:14 AM

Bolsonaro supporters storm National Congress [DW]

Protestors swarm Brazil’s Congress [NBC]
Storming of Brazil Congress condemned as attack on democracy [BBC]
Brazil congress attack: what we know so far [Grauniad]
In pictures: Bolsonaro supporters storm Brazilian Congress [CNN]
Bolsonaro believed to be in Florida as supporters protest in Brazil [The Hill]

Brazilian Media:
Bolsonaristas radicais invadem Congresso, Planalto e STF, sedes dos três Poderes, em Brasília
[O Globo]
Intolerável assalto à democracia [Estadão]
PM e Polícia do Exército preparam desocupação de acampamento golpista no DF [Folha de São Paulo]

posted by chavenet (30 comments total)

The failure to swiftly impeach, prosecute, and imprison Donald Trump for his coup attempt has not only emboldened US fascists, but is providing inspiration to fascist movements abroad.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 4:46 AM on January 9, 2023 [73 favorites]

so wild to me that they tried this given how well it worked here in america where as we all know that guy in the horned hat is now speaker of the house and trump is president. given that this is basically the qanon contingent of brazil i think the real solution is to build a potemkin govt with a fake bolsonaro as president and have fake tv channels that tell them everything they want to hear, none of their concerns are connected to reality anyway, the simulacrum will be enough to satisfy these political ejaculations
posted by dis_integration at 4:53 AM on January 9, 2023 [12 favorites]

This is just the first 24 hours but it looks like Brazil might take a different approach than the US:
- The justice minister, Flavio Dino, has said the government is seeking information on "terrorist attacks".
- Brasilia's governor, Ibaneis Rocha, has been removed from his post for 90 days by the Supreme Court. Justice Alexandre de Moraes accused him of failing to prevent the riot and of being "painfully silent" in the face of the attack [and said the attack “could only have happened with the acquiescence, or even direct involvement, of public security and intelligence authorities”]
- "You will see in the images that they [police officers] are guiding people on the walk to Praca dos Tres Powers," [Lula] said. "We are going to find out who the financiers of these vandals who went to Brasilia are and they will all pay with the force of law."
- Pro-democracy rallies are being called by leftist leaders and groups across Brazil.
posted by trig at 5:11 AM on January 9, 2023 [33 favorites]

The failure to swiftly impeach, prosecute, and imprison Donald Trump for his coup attempt has not only emboldened US fascists, but is providing inspiration to fascist movements abroad.

After the insurrection of January 6, 2021, it seems an ongoing stain on the US to provide aid and comfort to another would-be right-wing dictator. The sooner we extradite Bolsonaro to Brazil to face charges, those already existing and those I imagine likely to come, the better for all involved.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:31 AM on January 9, 2023 [10 favorites]

So, on the one hand the Brazilian insurrectionists clearly took their model from the US events two years ago. But, on the other hand, clearly the PT has also learned lessons from the US response and (at least initially) seems like they are going to much more aggressively go after the people who instigated this. (Versus the US response, which has been to aggressively prosecute the people who were instigated into breaking into the building, but largely leaving alone the leaders so far aside from public exposure.)

I also suspect that Bolsanaro is going to wish that he had fled to a country that might do more to shelter him. To his credit, he did give statements saying to respect democracy before he left office, albeit late and grudgingly, and unlike Trump he might not have been at the center of this effort.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:52 AM on January 9, 2023 [6 favorites]

but is providing inspiration to fascist movements abroad.

Bolsonaro’s son shares Steve Bannon video supporting Brazil protests

Eduardo Bolsonaro, federal deputy for Sao Paolo and son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, has shared a video on his social networks in which Steve Bannon, the former ideological advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump, defends the protests in Brazil, which question the results of the last elections.

There is a direct relationship. Of course, Bannon wouldn't be supporting shit if he was in jail.

What appalls me most of all in the footage is the delight. The grinning pricks. One fuckwit was using part of the parliament like a slippery dip. Wheeee! There's no dignity in it. Smearing shit on the walls - that begins with a lack of self-respect.

I'm reminded of a moment in history. In 1453 when the Ottoman Sultan entered the Hagia Sofia, he had to restrain his soldiers from destroying the place. I think it's one of the greatest architectural achievements in human history. It's so beautiful, why would you ever think of destroying it? Well, a violent mob almost did, and I'll never understand it. I bet they were having fun though! Wheeee!
posted by adept256 at 6:27 AM on January 9, 2023 [24 favorites]

Supposedly that's just following Bolsonaro's example
posted by trig at 6:39 AM on January 9, 2023 [2 favorites]

Is this meant to be sarcastic

yeah.. jan 6th was the dumbest coup attempt in history until brasilia, jan 8th. you can't overthrow a gov't by taking a shit on the senate floor. figured they would've learned from recent events and adopted a more effective strategy than the Sea-Doo Salesman Putsch.
posted by dis_integration at 7:31 AM on January 9, 2023 [4 favorites]

So, was his trip to KFC a signal to his supporters? Like a nod to Trump and his Big Macs?
posted by briank at 7:39 AM on January 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

> This is just the first 24 hours but it looks like Brazil might take a different approach than the US:

So they're not rewarding most of the people responsible at the planning level with even more power, influence and control than they had before the failed coup attempt?
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:12 AM on January 9, 2023 [7 favorites]

>you can't overthrow a gov't by taking a shit on the senate floor.

And you can't stop a coup by laughing it off. Thousands of people stormed a federal building with the encouragement of the white house and there have been basically no consequences. A major political party has demonstrated its intention to no longer recognize the legitimacy of elections that it loses. If we can't be bothered to respond to this stuff, it's not going to help us that the one guy's hat was stupid.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 8:39 AM on January 9, 2023 [37 favorites]

This post is still about Brazil right?
posted by obfuscation at 9:33 AM on January 9, 2023 [10 favorites]

This post is still about Brazil right?


Why do I just know the Fark.com headline will leave the name Brazil out.
posted by ocschwar at 9:38 AM on January 9, 2023 [2 favorites]

I haven't been able to figure out from the English coverage, but what is the Brazilian army doing in regards to this? Because Brazil is not exactly a country without a recent history of governments being overthrown, but usually by Generals not general uprising.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:40 AM on January 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

A relevant contrast between Brazil and the US, I think, is that Brazil has fairly recent history (less than 40 years ago) as an authoritarian nation which renders the idea of dictatorship less alien, whereas the USA has been (nominally, albeit with a great number of practical failings) a democracy with peaceful transitions of power for hundreds of years. so when the USA sees authoritarian eruptions, we blink in incomprehension and say "wait, what? no, that sort of thing doesn't happen here" and count on institutions to correct themselves in their usual manner, whereas in Brazil the response is "NO WE ARE NOT GOING BACK TO THAT" and decisive reprisal.
posted by jackbishop at 9:43 AM on January 9, 2023 [20 favorites]

which renders the idea of dictatorship less alien

In fact Bolsonaro openly talked about his enthusiasm about coups in Brazil and repeatedly praised the previous dictatorship - before, during, and after his presidency
posted by trig at 9:59 AM on January 9, 2023 [3 favorites]

deja coup
posted by rubatan at 10:21 AM on January 9, 2023 [8 favorites]

Twitter fired all its content moderation staff in Brazil in October. Weird how this happened.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:30 AM on January 9, 2023 [14 favorites]

I haven't been able to figure out from the English coverage, but what is the Brazilian army doing in regards to this? Because Brazil is not exactly a country without a recent history of governments being overthrown, but usually by Generals not general uprising.

Troops were involved in securing the buildings and evicting demonstrators. Troops were also involved in clearing the large encampment. And previously the military had issued a report saying that the elections did not have irregularities (though with some caveats).

Because Brazil is not exactly a country without a recent history of governments being overthrown, but usually by Generals not general uprising.

In fairness, the last time the military took over was in 1964, and democracy was restored almost 40 years ago. (Some people have talked about Rousseff's impeachment as a coup, and ditto Lula's imprisonment, but in neither case was there a military takeover.) So while concerns about this are very much justified and Bolsonaro did a lot to encourage those fears, as of right now there isn't actually a move towards this.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:43 AM on January 9, 2023 [3 favorites]

Brazil’s Bolsonaro hospitalized with abdominal pain: report [Fox News]
posted by chavenet at 10:47 AM on January 9, 2023 [2 favorites]

A classic move! (she says after watching way too many Korean dramas)
posted by trig at 11:32 AM on January 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

Mod note: One comment deleted, as much as the similarities are obvious let's avoid turning this thread into an American-centric discussion.
posted by loup (staff) at 11:36 AM on January 9, 2023 [8 favorites]

In fairness, the last time the military took over was in 1964, and democracy was restored almost 40 years ago.

I spent some time there in the mid-90s and military rule didn't feel all that far in the past then, but of course that was decades ago now, even if it doesn't feel like it to me. Also, get off my lawn.
posted by jacquilynne at 11:47 AM on January 9, 2023 [4 favorites]

Brazil’s Bolsonaro hospitalized with abdominal pain: report

His remorseless search for new diseases to catch was inevitably going to bring him to the seething petri dish of Florida.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 12:09 PM on January 9, 2023 [3 favorites]

I knew Bannon's name would come up, and Florida is home to such nefarious workings, mystery airfields, secret and private armies, privateering for money, under the guise of cause.

I have hopes for the Amazon's recovery and democratic processes normalizing there, good luck Brazil. Brazil si!
posted by Oyéah at 12:14 PM on January 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

Appeal to Biden to turn Bolsonaro over? Sure. Yeah. No way would he let some schmuck deny an election result, spur a coup attempt, and fuck off to Florida to chill out at a resort. Good plan, no notes.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 2:39 PM on January 9, 2023 [4 favorites]

Appeal to Biden to turn Bolsonaro over? Sure. Yeah. No way would he let some schmuck deny an election result, spur a coup attempt, and fuck off to Florida to chill out at a resort. Good plan, no notes.

Has Brazil requested Bolsonaro’s extradition?
posted by Thorzdad at 3:24 PM on January 9, 2023 [2 favorites]

U.S. would ‘treat seriously’ requests to revoke Bolsonaro’s visa

posted by jointhedance at 3:32 PM on January 9, 2023 [1 favorite]

From Ryan Broderick's Garbage Day newsletter:

...Trump supporters dream of bringing America back to a vague fictitious past, some combination of the Reaganite 80s and a 1950s America that only existed in magazine ads. Bolsominions are much more specific. They want to bring back a military dictatorship and they’re not afraid to say it...

posted by ssmith at 3:45 PM on January 9, 2023 [3 favorites]

Has Brazil requested Bolsonaro’s extradition?

The United States might not need to wait for that request. From the aforementioned Washington Post article:

Fabio de Sa e Silva, a lawyer and professor of Brazilian studies at the University of Oklahoma, pushed back on the claim that the president shouldn’t get involved in individual immigration cases or should wait until the Brazilian government acted.

“The Biden administration could immediately revoke his visa,” he said. “There is no need for any formal procedure or formal request from the Brazilian government or any authority. It’s entirely within the discretion of the U.S. administration.”

More from WaPo: How to be declared ‘persona non grata’ and get yourself kicked out of the United States
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:03 PM on January 9, 2023 [1 favorite]