Dealing with an Attempted Coup

One year ago, supporters of ousted President Bolsonaro stormed the Brazilian Congress. Since then, progress has been made in the political and legal handling of the events, but there are still unanswered questions. They shattered windows, destroyed furniture and artwork, urinated on carpets, assaulted police officers and journalists, and set fires – all while dressed like football hooligans. The yellow jersey of the Brazilian national team had long become the symbol of the supporters of ousted President Jair Messias Bolsonaro.

Eight days after his successor, Lula da Silva, took office, the so-called Bolsonaristas stormed the seat of power in Brasilia on January 8th of last year. In the following days, security forces arrested approximately 1,500 participants in this attempted coup, including former ministers and high-ranking government officials.

A coup attempt from the top

It was not until months later that a parliamentary investigation committee determined that it was indeed an attempted coup and named Bolsonaro as the main perpetrator.

“It is widely known that he never had sympathy for republican and democratic principles,” said Senator and reporter Eliziane Gama when presenting the final report in October. Bolsonaro had been attacking state institutions “from the first day of his term, especially those that stood in the way of his will to power in any way.”

Unanswered questions about the masterminds

The political handling of the “vandalism,” as Acting President Lula da Silva called the events, was comparatively swift. However, the same cannot be said for understanding the societal backgrounds that led to it, says political scientist Guilherme Casarões from the renowned think tank, Getulio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro. He sees the attempted coup as the culmination of a long development. “Some consider the beginning of this development as Bolsonaro’s assumption of office, while others point to his attempt to cast doubt on the legitimacy of electronic voting machines.”

Yet to be clarified is which individuals or groups have long been attempting to undermine democracy in Brazil. Casarões mentions investigations against former advisers of Bolsonaro and high-security officials. The role of some regional governments has also not yet been clarified.

Christian nationalism as a driving force

The images from Brasilia immediately brought to mind the storming of the Capitol in Washington two years earlier. Casarões believes that the worldviews of the respective actors were also similar. “What we call Bolsonarism is actually a coalition of very different groups, a very heterogeneous coalition in terms of ideology and methods of action.”

It is difficult to assign the other extremist currents active in Brazil, such as neo-Nazis or white supremacists. Casarões himself speaks of “Christian supremacism.” Seeing religion as a condition for belonging to Brazilian nationality has held the Bolsonaro movement together. January 8th, 2023, was simultaneously a continuation and culmination of this development that seeks to undermine democracy in Brazil, says Casarões, who is also involved with the Observatory of the Far Right, founded in 2020, to monitor extremist currents.

The development in Brazil is closely linked to the success of former US President Donald Trump, but the individuals behind it also have connections to extremists in Argentina, Chile, Spain. Casarões also mentions personal connections to this milieu in Germany through Sven von Storch, the husband of AfD member of the Bundestag Beatrix von Storch, “associated with this ultracatholic, ultrachristian movement with right-wing extremist tendencies.”

Bolsonaro remains on the bench

This movement remains strong in Brazil. However, there is a significant difference from the current situation in the United States: unlike Trump, Bolsonaro cannot make a quick return. In June, the Brazilian Supreme Electoral Court deprived him of the right to run for office for eight years. Further legal proceedings against him are pending.

One year after the failed coup attempt, prison sentences of up to 17 years have been handed down in 30 judgments, and 29 other major trials were just opened in December. On today’s anniversary, Acting President Lula da Silva, along with 500 invited guests from politics and society in Brasilia, will introduce January 8th as the “Day of Democracy” into the political calendar.

Demonstrations for democracy are expected across Brazil. However, right-wing extremist circles are also trying to mobilize. Government officials remain calm, saying that security forces will monitor these networks to avoid surprises, said Tadeu Alencar, the Secretary of Public Security.