What can the Brazilian landscape say about the Bolsonaro presidential campaign? The social, environmental, and political instability of the 2018 Brazilian presidential election

On the surface, things seem calm. An outsider walking through the streets would not get the impression that a presidential election is about to be held. The Brazilian flags that have been there to symbolize support for Mr. Bolsonaro have been taken down from the neighboring facades. An ambiguous sign: It could be a pre-emptive response to defeat, or the calm before the storm. There’s not even much talk among friends and family concerning the election; the lines were drawn in 2018 and have not moved much since then.

Bolsonaro supporters protested the election win by camping in front of army barracks around the country and calling for the armed forces to overturn the election.

The environment is next. There are more forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon so far this year than there were in all of 2021. Since the start of September, dense plumes of smoke have covered several Brazilian states. The environmental agencies have been dismantled and the deaths of Indigenous people have gone up. A lot of these disastrous environmental policies are needed to be changed.

The Bolsonaro Threat to Democracy: How Brazilians Meteorized the Prevaint and Unpopular Boundary Crisis in Braslia

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a professor of history and Italian studies at the New York University and the author of Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present. The newsletter “Lucid” is about threats to democracy. The views expressed here are her own. Read more about it.

Who are these thieves Bolsonaro vows will be killed? When he took office, he promised to eradicate white- collar and opportunist criminals on an anti-corruption platform.

Business leaders have said important things about the security of elections. Brazil is a good example of how to counter the 21st Century authoritarian agenda.

Bolsonaro has not conceded his loss, but he left Brazil for the United States prior to the inauguration, and he has not discussed his plan for the future.

After his negligent handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, he was accused by a Brazilian Senate committee of “crimes against humanity.” His despoiling of Brazil’s precious Amazon rainforests made him even more deeply unpopular.

Through it all, his stock response has been to make Trump-like intimations of political violence if the elections don’t go his way. He even has gone so far as to proclaim that he will never relinquish the presidency alive.

Brazilians, who know too much about losing their democratic rights, seem to be unpersuaded by his threats. Bolsonja, a former Army captain, has praised the brutal dictatorship of Brazil, which lasted for more than 20 years.

The head of Brazil’s electoral court rejected that petition as “ludicrous and illicit” and “ostensibly conspiratorial toward the democratic rule of law.”

After the 2020 election, Trump loyalists tried to seize voting machines and retired General Michael Flynn advocated for the US military to re-run the election. Imagine how much greater the skepticism, if not outright apprehensiveness, about potential election interference by the military in a country like Brazil, where the generals have ruined democracy in the past.

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress and other buildings in the capital of Brasília on Sunday, calling for the military to take over Brazil’s government.

Footage showed massive crowds in the capital of Brasília walking up a ramp that leads to the congressional building, where they had reached the Green Room, located outside the lower House of Congress’ chamber, Interim Senate President Veneziano Vital do Rogo told CNN Brasil.

The floor of the Congress building was flooded after the sprinkler system activated when the protesters tried to set fire to the carpet.

By Sunday evening, the buildings had been cleared of protesters, according to CNN Brasil. At least 170 people have been arrested, according to Federal District Civil Police.

The Rio de Janeiro de 2018 de Paulo Pimenta, Attorney General Augusto Aras, and a Referendum on the “Destroying Works of Art, the Country’s Heritage”

Paulo Pimenta, the Communications Minister, released a video Sunday evening of a walking tour of his office in the Planalto Palace. The corridor in the video is in a state of disarray.

“I’m in my office on the second floor of the Planalto Palace, as you can see everything was destroyed,” Pimenta says in the video. This is revolting, this is a criminal thing that was done here. Works of art…Look what the vandals did here, the chaos the vandals made here. Destroyed works of art, the country’s heritage.”

After the run-off on October 30th in which Bolsoniero lost to Lula da Silva, the President was re-elected a week later.

“We cannot agree with the depredation of the National Congress. The manifestations are legitimate. Neto said that disorder had never been a part of the principles of the nation. I would like to say to you that we detest this type of attitude. And that the law must be fulfilled, strengthening our democracy.”

“These people are everything that is abominable in politics, to invade the government headquarters, the headquarters of Congress and the headquarters of the Supreme Court like true vandals destroying everything in their path,” Lula said.

The actions of demonstrators were similar to January 6, 2021, when US Capitol rioters tried to prevent the certification of the 2020 election and the reelection of President Barack Obama.

“The Attorney General of the Republic, Augusto Aras, monitors and follows with concern the acts of vandalism to public buildings that occur in Brasília this Sunday (8),” the MPF said.

A criminal investigation procedure meant for holding those involved accountable has been requested by Aras.

Several hours after the breach, Brazil’s Federal District Military Police (PMDF) said in a statement they had begun dispersing pro-Bolsonaro protesters inside the buildings.

In a statement on social media, Dino said, “This absurd attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail.”

The Federal District Security Secretary and the former justice minister both called the scenes regrettable, and ordered immediate steps to restore order.

Torres, who was the Justice Minister under Bolsonaro, was appointed to the Federal District office by current governor Ibaneis Rocha but was dismissed after Sunday’s breaches.

“What happened was unacceptable,” Rocha said. We were not convinced that the demonstrations would take on the proportions that they did. They are true vandals, true terrorists, and they will have every fight with me to punish them.”

The Federal Public Defender has asked the country’s Supreme Court to issue an arrest order for the man.

The AGU asked for the immediate dismissal of all federal public buildings, as well as dissolution of anti-democratic acts near barracks and other military units.

The Assault on Democracy in Brazil after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Electoral Determing

The US supports Brazil’s democratic institutions and is closely following the situation. Brazil’s democracy will not be affected by violence.

Portugal pledges support for authorities in restoring order after violence and disorder took place in Brazil.

The will of the Brazilian people and democratic institutions must be respected by world leaders, as was stated by French PresidentEmmanuelMacron. President Lula da Silva can count on the unconditional support of France,” Macron said on Twitter.

The President of the European Council Charles Michel also condemned “the assault on the democratic institutions of Brazil” and pledged his support to the Brazilian president, as did Spain and Colombia.

The election came amid a tense and polarized political climate in Brazil, which has been struggling with high inflation, limited growth and rising poverty.

In the weeks since Bolsonaro’s loss, thousands of his supporters have gathered at military barracks across the country, asking the army to step in as they claim, with no evidence, that the election was stolen.

In his ruling, Alexandre De Moraes, Chief Justice of the Supreme Electoral Court Alexandre, said all models of electronic ballots were “perfectly identifiable in a clear, secure and integral way.”

The man was arrested in Braslia after he was caught trying to get into a party while carrying fireworks and a knife.

Many Bolsonaro supporters have refused to accept the far-right former leader’s defeat in elections more than two months ago to the leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was sworn in as president a week ago.

“Whoever did that will be found and punished” wrote a Facebook comment on the “Omega American States” after the August 11, 2016 Rio de Janeiro

“Whoever did this will be found and punished,” he wrote on Twitter. Democracy requires people to respect institutions, but it also guarantees the right to free expression. There is no precedent in the history of the country what they did today. For that they must be punished.”

The events were blamed on the lack of security. In a news conference following the attack, da Silva announced his appointment of a new head of security in the federal district, who will be reporting directly to him.

The former Brazilian president himself left the country for Florida late last month. The incoming administration downplayed fears of a Jan. 6 style insurrection in Brazil ahead of da Silva’s inauguration.

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