Brazil observes anniversary of the anti-democratic uprising in the capital

A year on, Brazil has strived to move on from what Supreme Court president Luís Roberto Barroso called in an op-ed published Monday by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo “the most virulent attack on the country’s institutions” since the end of the military dictatorship nearly four decades ago.

Unlike in the U.S., Brazil’s judiciary has already sidelined Bolsonaro. Last year, the nation’s electoral court barred him from running for office again until 2030. The case was unrelated to the riots, but rather pertained to his repeated, unfounded claims that the electronic voting system was susceptible to fraud.

And most Brazilians seem to be rallying around the banner of democracy promoted by Lula since assuming office on Jan. 1, 2023. A December survey by pollster Quaest found that 89% of Brazilians surveyed viewed last year’s uprising negatively.

There also have been attempts at accountability in the U.S.: about 1,200 people have been charged over the Jan. 6 insurrection, and Trump faces both federal and state charges for seeking to overturn the 2020 election results. He has been barred from the ballot in two states in a matter that will now go before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Brazil, federal prosecutors have filed charges against more than 1,400 people for their role in the riots. But the Supreme Court has only convicted 30 people since the first conviction, in September. Many of those targeted claim they are suffering political persecution. The Supreme Court is also investigating Bolsonaro over his role in the insurrection.

So far, senior officers of the armed forces have also escaped accountability, although important voices such as Supreme Court justices and opposition leaders have said that some, at the very least, were complicit.

In October, a congressional panel of lawmakers, mostly allied with Lula, concluded that Bolsonaro orchestrated the riots as part of a concerted effort to oust Lula from office. They said that the riots couldn’t have occurred without the complicity of some of the top military brass and police officers.

Their report called for the indictment of 22 military personnel, including the then heads of Brazil’s navy and armed forces, and Bolsonaro’s former defense minister and running mate, Gen. Braga Netto.

So far, no action has been taken against any of them.

On Monday morning, police carried out 46 search and seizure warrants and one arrest warrant, police said. The arrest warrant targeted a person that allegedly contracted a bus to drive protesters from Brazil’s northeast to Brasilia, according to Folha de S.Paulo.

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