2022–2023 Brazilian election protests

 2022–2023 Brazilian election protests 

Bolsonaro supporters climbing the ramp of the National Congress of Brazil in 2023
Location	Brazil

The 2022–2023 Brazilian election protests began shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 Brazilian general election's second round on October 30, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was declared the winner. While the images creates the impression of a coup attempt, the event show some conspicuous anomalies from a normal coup, and is most likely part of a strategy of tension.

Official narrative

On 8 January 2023, pro-Bolsonaro protesters Three Powers Square, vandalizing the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate halls of the National Congress of Brazil in the process; protesters also invaded the Supreme Federal Court palace and the Palácio do Planalto in an attempt to overthrow the Federal Government. The insurrection failed and the Praça was cleared by law enforcement after a few hours; several thousand Bolsonaro supporters were arrested following the event.

Similarities to January 6

The events have some uncanny similarities to the false flag January 6 2021 riots at the US Capitol in the United States, and the German “storming of the Reichstag” in 2020 and the repeat in 2022.

• Bolsonaro refuses to acknowledge his (extremely narrow) electoral defeat, even staying away from the inauguration of his successor: Just like Donald Trump.
• Thousands of his unleashed followers storm iconic buildings in the capital, producing striking images that provoke great outrage at home and in the world: much like the storming of the Capitol in Washington.
• Trump-friend Bolsonaro is staying in Republican-ruled Florida, Anderson Torres who used to be Bolsonaro's justice minister and lately served as security chief in the capital Brasilia is visiting him. The allegation is that they must have hatched out the storming together.
• The police are initially overwhelmed and some are said to even sympathize with the attackers: It is well known that the Brazilian security forces are close to Bolsonaro.

Problems

On closer inspection, however, the event - apart from the dramatic pictures - is completely amateurish:

• Only symbols are attacked, but no actual positions of power. No officials are captured, no radio or television stations are taken, or important transport hubs, as with a normal coup.
• The action is confined to the artificially created capital Brasilia. There also appears to be few people in the buildings attacked at the time. Missing is Lula, who is in faraway Sao Paulo.
• The army, probably the most important power factor, is obviously not involved in any way.
• It was apparently no secret that Bolsonaro supporters wanted to make their way to Brasilia in large numbers to protest, but there were apparently no attempts to stop them or at least to counter them with an appropriate strong police presence.
• A serious coup attempt against Lula would have had some chance of success, assuming that preparations had been made before this event. The support for Bolsonaro in the police, secret services and army is still strong, and a large section of the population also has sympathy for him. Lula had not yet consolidated his new power.

• The demonstrations in Brazil have been going on for months and, with few exceptions, have always been very peaceful. The preparations for a large demonstration in Brasilia on January 8th, 2023 started a week earlier. Those responsible in Brasilia therefore were informed about the expected crowds.

• Of relevance is that the elections uses electronic voting machines, known for the potential for manipulation.

Lula

While the Lula-government is routinely slurred as "communist" by Bolsonaro supporters, this is a misnomer. Michel Chossudovsky points out that "Throughout the western hemisphere as well as in Western Europe, the Left has endorsed the Lula presidency without examining the underlying implications. The 2023 Lula government has been casually categorized as a victory against US imperialism. While the "progressive" and “Leftist” labels prevail, key political appointments had already been approved by the Washington Consensus. De facto, it is a centre-rightist government "with leftist characteristics". 

Lula is a firm supporter of Joe Biden: "Biden is a breath for democracy in the world." Lula’s running mate, Vice President Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Jr. (former governor of Sao Paulo) is an avowed neoliberal committed to privatizing State property on behalf of Brazil’s external creditors. He also has links to Opus Dei.

Of relevance is that the Lula government has stated its intention to start an intense Covid jab campaign, while

Bolsonaro

Approximately 81 percent of Brazilians were "fully vaccinated" during his government, but Bolsonaro has also been one of the few world politicians to not be fully onboard the forced injection drive.

Bolsonaro supportes are routinely framed by corporate media as "extreme right" or "fascists", just as at the US Capitol. A more correct description would be conservative (upper) middle-class citizens with legitimate concerns that were ignored by the responsible authorities, and may also have been deliberately lured into a trap by agents provocateurs in order to be able to reinterpret the protest as an "uprising". But supporters also camped outside the Brazilian armed forces' command center for weeks to urge them to intervene and oust Lula and his government.

Infiltrators?

Deputy for Mato Grosso, José Medeiros accused the PT of sabotaging the demonstration in Brasília, which, according to him, would have continued peacefully: "Each speech like this reinforces the suspicion that the invasion was planned by the PT. In 2013, the black blocs infiltrated to sabotage the peaceful demonstration. It's called a false flag attack", wrote the parliamentarian on Twitter.

 

Related Quotation

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva	“There are many other regional powers that can influence the course of history. Brazil stands out. The election of Lula at the end of last year was crucial. On January 8th there was a coup attempt much like January 6th, 2021, in the US. Lula handled it masterfully and established his authority as president. Brazil is on the front-line of the conflict between open and closed societies; it is also on the front-line of the fight against climate change. He must protect the rainforest, promote social justice, and reignite economic growth all at the same time. He will need strong international support because there is no pathway to net zero emissions if he fails.”	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva George Soros	16 February 2023

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