On January 6, 2021, a mob of pro-Trump supporters invaded the Capitol, a symbol of power, killing several people and permanently tarnishing the image of American democracy. Almost two years after that day, this Sunday, a pro-Bolsonaro yellow and green human tide took control, for several hours, of the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court in Brasilia, the Brazilian capital.
The events, described as “unprecedented in the history of Brazil” by the new left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, come just a week after he took office. Denouncing the work of “vandals, fanatical fascists”, Lula promised that the culprits would be “all punished”. More than 200 people, according to Justice and Security Minister Flavio Dino, have already been detained.
Bolsonaro denies any responsibility
6,000 kilometers from Florida, Jair Bolsonaro sent a series of tweets condemning, without firmness, the actions of his supporters.
“Peaceful demonstrations, within the framework of the law, are part of democracy. However, the degradations and invasions of public buildings, as they have occurred today, as well as those practiced in 2013 and 2017 by the left, repeal the rule, “wrote the former Brazilian president, assuring that during his tenure” he always respected the Constitution “.
Earlier today, Lula he had accused his predecessor of having encouraged violence, for his “speeches”. “It is also his responsibility and that of the parties that supported him,” said the leftist. “Accusations” “without evidence”had quickly swept away Jair Bolsonaro.
The “Trump of the tropics”
If now justice must investigate the security failures that allowed these excesses and determine those responsible, the similarities between what happened in Brasilia and Washington, two years earlier, are multiplied. They are due, first of all, to the personalities of the two presidents supported by the rioters in the Capitol and those in Brasilia. During his tenure, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has often been called the “Trump of the tropics.” The two men did not hide their good relationship and their terms were marked by sexist, racist and homophobic comments.
Following in the footsteps of his American friend, during the presidential campaign, Jair Bolsonaro and his camp cried out about electoral fraud, questioning in particular the reliability of electronic voting. Like Donald Trump, who never acknowledged Joe Biden’s victory, the Brazilian was silent for 40 days after his defeat, speaking only to pay lip service to the transition with his successor. The former head of state also boycotted his inauguration by refusing to hand over the presidential sash to Lula, who narrowly defeated him in October’s presidential election.
Close ties between Bolsonaristas and Trumpistas
During the assaults on the Capitol and those in Brasilia, it was the symbols of power that were attacked. The images of the pro-Bolsonaro partying in the hall of the Federal Senate, the upper house of the Brazilian Congress, naturally echo those of the rioters on Capitol Hill.
The assaults on Brasilia, which will undoubtedly mark Brazilian politics for years to come, resonate particularly with Trumpists. as detailed The worldSteve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, encouraged Jair Bolsonaro not to recognize the results of the November elections. A sample of the close ties between Jair Bolsonaro and his American friend, Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the former Brazilian president, was received by Donald Trump at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, shortly after the defeat of the father of he.
In January 2021, our colleagues recall, Jair Bolsonaro refused to condemn the assault on the Capitol, pointing out the “lack of confidence” in the elections that “led to what is happening.” In Brazil, “fraud also exists” and, he warned, there “the same thing could happen.”
Source: BFM TV
