Brazilian protesters have taken to the nation’s legislative and executive branches in protest of the country’s latest presidential election results. Meanwhile, U.S. democrat lawmakers are condemning the protesters as fascists and calling on Joe Biden to make a move.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to a hospital in Orlando, Florida with abdominal pains, while chaos erupted in his country’s capital city after his supporters stormed multiple government buildings.
Bolsonaro has suffered health problems since he was stabbed during the 2018 presidential campaign, according to the Hill.
According to Reuters, Bolsonaro visited the U.S. two days before Lula da Silva took office as president. Bolsonaro has refused to concede since losing to Lula in October, and he has questioned Brazil’s election integrity for years.
The South American nation’s legislative and executive branches were visited by thousands of supporters of the right-wing president who was replaced last week by the left-wing president.
It has been announced that the rioters will be prosecuted, and some have already been taken into custody, according to The Daily Wire.
The demonstrations have been condemned by American lawmakers. According to President Biden, the protests were “attacks on Brazil’s democracy and on the peaceful transition of power.”
Biden also wrote on Twitter, “I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined.”
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Twitter that the U.S. must stop “granting refuge to Bolsonaro” as he remains in Florida and defended Lula’s “democratically elected government.”
Lula has said that the protests were the “acts of vandals and fascists” and blamed Bolsonaro’s rhetoric for the protests.
However, in a tweet on Sunday, Bolsonaro rejected Lula’s accusations and admitted that the invasion went beyond peaceful protests.
The situation in Brazil mirrors what happened in the U.S. on January 6th.
It should be noted that in the aftermath of January 6, American law enforcement agencies were criticized for throwing the book at the rioters, primarily right-of-center, while seemingly ignoring protests that caused extensive damage to major American cities months earlier related to the death of George Floyd. In addition, the Justice Department has been criticized for its treatment of the January 6 defendants.
As the government of Brazil faces mass protests in response to the October presidential election results, President Biden is presented with a critical test of his foreign policy and moral leadership. Jair Bolsonaro has been unflinching in his refusal to concede since losing to Lula da Silva, raising questions about the legitimacy of the democratic process across the region. Government weaponization against Republican protests that have now become far too common in America and now seemingly Brazil, which is slowly paving way for anti-republican agendas which can only lead to further civil unrest until needed change comes about.
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