Fazer o Brasil grande novamente
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Bolsonaro’s election theft scheme, needless to say, was heavily indented to Trump’s:
In August 2021, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s son traveled to Sioux Falls, S.D., to meet with some of the most prominent purveyors of former president Donald Trump’s false claims of mass election fraud.
Eduardo Bolsonaro had a dire warning for the group, which included Stephen K. Bannon, Trump’s former top adviser: Brazil’s electronic voting system was “ridiculous” and vulnerable to mass fraud, he said according to a recording of the event.
The gathering was part of the prologue to events that unfolded in Brazil on Sunday, when Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed government buildings — smashing windows and assaulting police — in a striking echo of the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Like Trump, Bolsonaro had spent months predicting mass fraud and then refused to concede defeat after losing his October election.
While no evidence has emerged that Bolsonaro or his son had a direct role in the rioting in Brazil’s capital, it is clear that the family fomented anger against democratic institutions — part of a playbook that reflected their deep ties to Trump and those who fueled his own push to cast doubt on American election results.
As Trump endorsed Jair Bolsonaro for reelection, prominent U.S. election deniers made inroads with Bolsonaro’s movement and family, according to interviews and public documents. Eduardo Bolsonaro discussed election fraud with Bannon and lunched with former Trump adviser Jason Miller, while Donald Trump Jr. spoke remotely to a gathering in Brazil last year to push claims that outside forces were seeking to undermine Bolsonaro’s campaign.
It’s a transnational movement.
Meanwhile, you have to admire the urgency with which the Brazilian authorities are going after not only insurrectionists but critical state collaborators:
A senior judge on Brazil’s supreme court on Tuesday ordered the arrests of two security officials in the capital, two days after supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country’s congress, presidential palace and supreme court.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes approved warrants for the arrests of Anderson Torres, the public security secretary for the federal district of Brasília, and Col. Fábio Augusto, commander of military police in the district, according to a court official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and members of the court accuse police of colluding with the rioters who occupied and vandalized the buildings Sunday in the apparent hope of encouraging the military to overthrow the government.
Granting that it’s easier to respond quickly to an attempted coup than an attempted autogolpe it’s pretty impressive.