JANUARY 6 COMES TO BRAZIL

In case anyone has the slightest doubt that The Right - wherever found - is The Enemy:

(Reported from the New York Times)

Two months after Jair Bolsonaro lost his re-election bid for the presidency, angry supporters charged into Brazil’s Congress and presidential offices on Sunday.

Thousands of supporters of Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, stormed the country’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices on Sunday to protest what they falsely believe was a stolen election. It was the violent culmination of incessant rhetorical attacks by Mr. Bolsonaro and his supporters against the nation’s electoral systems.

Dozens of protesters streamed into the presidential offices in Brasília, the capital, with some holding a barricade to hold back police. Inside the building, the protesters could be seen attempting to build more barricades with chairs. Protesters raised the flag of the Empire of Brazil above Congress, and others could be seen destroying windows inside the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil.

Outside the presidential offices, a crowd of protesters using sticks or poles struck a police officer on horseback, pulling him off his horse, according to video posted to social media. Dozens of soldiers entered the building as officers in two helicopters fired what appeared to be anti-riot ammunition and tear-gas canisters.

Security in the area had been the responsibility of Anderson Torres, security secretary of the federal district. Torres, a staunch ally of Jair Bolsonaro, had just been fired by Ibaneis Rocha, the governor of the federal district. Torres was Jair Bolsonaro’s minister of justice from March 2021 until the end of his term.

Facing various investigations from his time in office, Mr. Bolsonaro flew to Florida in late December with plans to stay for at least a month. He has been in Orlando, living in a rented house owned by a professional mixed-martial-arts fighter a few miles from Disney World. Since his loss in October, his supporters have been camped outside military bases across the country, and had called on the armed forces to take control of the government and halt the inauguration of Mr. Lula.

Protesters are wandering around the smoke-filled presidential offices, a building that was the site of the presidential inauguration just one week ago. Video posted to social media show men, some wearing Brazilian flags as capes, walking into empty offices where tables and chairs have been overturned.

On a livestream, one protester narrated the scene as other demonstrators stormed Congress. “This is a historic moment,” he said. “This is the invasion — the invasion, no, the occupation — of the National Congress.” He then added another message for viewers: “Give a like and subscribe to my channel, guys.”

“Every one of them must be prosecuted and arrested! There will be no tolerance,” tweeted Jean Paul Prates, a Brazilian senator and member of Mr. Lula’s Workers’ Party, who described the protesters as “terrorists.”

Pictures on social media show Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies (its lower house of Congress) flooded after protesters set the carpet on fire. A CNN reporter on the scene also said that gifts from foreign dignitaries to Congress were taken by protesters.

Valdemar Costa Neto, the head of Mr. Bolsanaro’s right-wing Liberal Party, issued a statement. “Today is a sad day for the Brazilian nation. We cannot agree with the plundering of the national Congress. All orderly demonstrations are legitimate. Disorder has never been part of our nation’s principles. I want to tell you that we vehemently disapprove of this type of attitude and let the law be enforced, strengthening our democracy.”

Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has attacked the country’s election systems for years.

One of his claims has been that apparent patterns in vote results show proof of fraud. He has repeatedly said that election officials count votes in secret, suggesting they could manipulate results. And he has said that he suspected hackers tried to steal the presidential election from him in 2018, but failed. (Does this sound familiar? TC)

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced he will sign an emergency decree allowing the federal government to intervene and implement “any measures necessary” to bring order to the capital. The decree will remain in effect until Jan. 31.

Jake Sullivan, President Biden's national security advisor, tweeted: “The United States condemns any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil. President Biden is following the situation closely and our support for Brazil’s democratic institutions is unwavering. Brazil’s democracy will not be shaken by violence.” (This is a nice change, considering that in 1964, it was the CIA that worked with the Generals to stage their coup against Brazilian democracy - TC)

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