CURITIBA, Brazil—The breach of key government institutions in Brazil’s capital, including the Parliament, Supreme Court, and presidential palace, sent shockwaves across the country, with newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vowing to clamp down on protesters and protest leaders, who claim that some of the violence was instigated by left-wing agitators.
The events over the Jan. 7–8 weekend propelled Latin America’s main regional power onto the front pages of major newspapers worldwide. Hundreds of people occupied the government buildings, some repeated chants commonly heard during months of post-election protests, including claims of election fraud, chants highlighting a concern that hard-left authoritarianism had taken over the country, and calls for the military to “save Brazil.”
“Our flag will never be red,” some sang.
While previous protests against the new government covered by The Epoch Times in November and December of 2022 had been peaceful, videos of the latest round show people raiding the offices of elected officials, water flooding rooms, the wielding of firearms, and various forms of vandalism.
Meanwhile, Brazilian conservatives, including a leader in the protest movement, have said that the events were the result of leftist infiltrators, namely Antifa and the National Union of Students (UNE), a historically left-wing organization.
The government’s response to the riot was swift. Lula da Silva—who returned to power after having ruled for two terms in the 2000s—spoke from the city of Araraquara on the evening of Jan. 8. He condemned what went on that day and named a special envoy to temporarily take over the security apparatus of the Brasilia region. Orders for other anti-Lula da Silva protests to be disbanded swiftly followed.
What Caused This?
Brazil’s recent landmark election, called the “most important ever” by supporters of both major parties, saw conservative President Jair Bolsonaro up for reelection against leftist Lula da Silva. The latter won by a razor-thin margin during an Oct. 30 runoff, becoming the first Brazilian president to clinch a third term since the establishment of Brazil’s “re-democratization,” which put an end to military rule in the 1980s.Bolsonaro rose to prominence amid a new conservative movement in Brazil, gaining momentum, especially, after the 2013 Brazilian protests and the 2016 impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. By the time Bolsonaro was elected in 2018, the public’s distrust of Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party had grown significantly. Corruption scandals involving the party and its allies had become constant news in Brazil, and Lula da Silva himself didn’t run as many expected that year, instead spending time in prison on corruption and money laundering convictions.
Lula da Silva’s reputation became more controversial over the years as news coverage exposed his longstanding ties with the Cuban dictatorship and with the socialist regimes of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, sparking concern among many Brazilians that he himself might become radical.
Then, instead of serving the more than 12 years he was sentenced to, Lula da Silva was released from prison after just 580 days as a result of a Supreme Court ruling not specific to his case regarding legal proceedings. Subsequent rulings by the Brazilian Supreme Court determined that Lula da Silva hadn’t been judged in the right geographical jurisdiction, and that Judge Sérgio Moro was biased in the case’s ruling. As a result, Lula da Silva became eligible in early 2021 to run for office again and was a favorite to unite opposition parties in a presidential bid against Bolsonaro—capitalizing on his newfound “martyr” reputation.
The Supreme Court’s handling of the case led to an increased distrust of the bench among the populace, especially since most of its justices were nominated by Workers’ Party officials. Notably, Justice Luiz Edson Fachin, who was instrumental in overturning Lula da Silva’s sentence, had been a Workers’ Party activist in the southern state of Paraná prior to his nomination.
As the presidential elections approached, Supreme Court-led investigations had conservatives arrested amid accusations of a lack of due legal process.
Days prior to the vote, Brazil’s main conservative-leaning news outlet was pressured to self-censor regarding Supreme Court and election-related commentary.
Ahead of and after the runoff vote, the Bolsonaro campaign alleged irregularities and illegitimacy in the electoral process for a number of reasons, only to have its concerns dismissed, with the campaign eventually being fined by court order for disputing the results. Supporters pointed to the unwillingness of law enforcement to investigate the claims.
As soon as the results were called, with Lula da Silva coming out on top, protesters gathered in front of military facilities, placing their hope in the military to stop the incoming president from taking office. Protests eventually gathered millions around the country on weekends and holidays.
The military didn’t answer the protesters’ calls for intervention or their allegations of illegitimacy in the electoral process.
Bolsonaro mostly kept quiet after his defeat, and flew to the United States days before Lula da Silva’s inauguration, unwilling to participate in the ceremony.
Hopelessness seemed widespread among Bolsonaro’s supporters, as Lula de Silva began his administration by reversing the government’s stance to pro-abortion from pro-life, to anti-gun rights from pro-gun, and brought back to office people linked to the Workers’ Party. Although the protests hadn’t disbanded, the new administration constantly announced plans to quash them.
Allegations of ‘Left-Wing Infiltration’
On Jan. 9, claims of infiltration by leftist activists were spread widely on social media. The Epoch Times contacted sources among the protests’ leadership, who said that local “Antifa and UNE” were behind the violence.Videos went viral showing protesters wearing green and yellow soccer jerseys from Brazil’s national team yelling against vandalism amid the raids on the country’s capital. The Epoch Times couldn’t independently verify the information.
In one video circulating online, a protester is heard claiming that “Workers’ Party supporters are setting fire” to facilities and that they were trying to stop them.
Another shows groups of people chanting “Don’t break it! Don’t break it!” as many invade the federal government’s headquarters.
A video, allegedly of Bolsonaro supporters defending facilities from vandalism during the invasion, was shared by conservative influencers.
Aftermath: Divided Nation, Dangerous Precedent
In response to the Jan. 8 events, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes announced orders for all of the anti-Lula da Silva protesters who gathered, some camped out in tents, around military facilities, peaceful or not, to be disbanded within 24 hours and that arrests be made.The Civilian Police of the Federal District, which covers the capital of Brasília, has made at least 300 arrests.
Lula da Silva, in turn, appointed by decree a “federal interventor” to the Federal District. Ricardo Garcia Cappelli will receive extraordinary powers and broad access to resources to take over the region’s public security affairs, answering directly to Lula da Silva, over the next few weeks.
Cappelli is a former member of the Communist Party of Brazil, who, as a far-left activist in his youth, presided over the National Union of Students from 1997 to 1999. He was one of the organizers of a Fidel Castro trip to Brazil in 1999.
Lula da Silva, during his Jan. 8 evening speech, called the protesters “vandals, Nazis, and fascists,” and placed the blame on Bolsonaro. He also asserted that members of agribusiness—a sector with substantial political leverage in Brazil—might be involved.
Bolsonaro condemned the violence and cited previous episodes of left-wing vandalism at the country’s capital.
