The invasion of democratic institutions, the will to take over the government, speeches against democracy and the spread of fake news sound familiar. But how does it affect a young democracy? The 8th of January is a historical day in Brazil and marks the day of Jair Bolsonaro’s attempted coup d’état in a country where the average citizen is not involved in politics and prone to be warped by misinformation. On this day, the so-called naive Bolsonaro supporters invaded Congress and the population was exposed to what was going on behind the fog of fake news and what seemed to be Bolsonaro’s puppets.

Jair Messias Bolsonaro was president of Brazil from 2019 until 2022. He initially pursued a military career in the Brazilian army, where he conquered the title of Captain. During his time in the army, he was politically active against the military’s low wages, creating conflicts with his superiors. He was found guilty of drafting plans to bomb military barracks in Rio de Janeiro during a protest, but the investigation was concluded after his time in the army, with no consequences.

His polemic military career made him politically known, elected in 1988 as city councilman for Rio de Janeiro, and two years later as a federal deputy. His time as a deputy lasted until 2019, having been affiliated with different parties including the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Progressive Reform Party (PPR), Brazilian Progressive Party (PPB), Progressive Party (PP), and Christian Social Party (PCS). His career was characterized by his conservative values and right-wing ideologies, alongside his advocacy for an increased authoritarian governance. He proposed 171 projects, but only two were approved. In 2019, he successfully campaigned for presidency as head of the Social Liberal Party (PSL), campaigning for easier gun access, Petrobras privatisation, Christian values, and against indigenous territory demarcation. His polemical government was shaped by evolving fires in the Amazon region, poor management of the COVID-19 pandemic, political rapprochement with the USA, irregular economic growth and rising inequality, unemployment and poverty.

He ran for reelection in 2022, facing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party, but lost with 49.10% of the votes, against the 50.90% of the sitting president. There were two scandals on election day, the first concerning the suspicion of logistical interference in the northeastern cities of Brazil; Bolsonaro’s allies were suspected of preventing people from reaching the electoral colleges in the cities where Lula had performed well in the first round of the elections. Additionally, after the final result was issued, he claimed the vote count had been cheated.

The coup is known as Bolsonaro’s Intent, and it started as a march in the capital city of Brasília, composed mainly of Bolsonaro supporters who had been mobilised through social media. Nationalists were looking for justice after allegations of electoral fraud spread, but military supporters also joined in to advocate for a military regime, mostly motivated by the social media and sensationalist messages received daily on platforms including Telegram and WhatsApp; what later became known as the “misinformation office”. They occupied the National Congress, the Senate and the Palace, vandalising and breaking the interior of the institutions, all the while broadcasting it on social media. The lack of resistance from security was notable, which was later explained through the discovery of evidence of corruption by the security forces themselves. The military forces could only regain control of the institutions hours later. After two years of investigation, the Supreme Federal Tribunal convicted 371 people involved, mostly for crimes against democratic institutions, qualified damage to property, attempts at a coup d’état, deterioration of cultural heritage, and criminal association.

The federal police was first to confirm that Bolsonaro was involved in the attempted coup d’état, together with some members of the army. The police presented a list of 37 people involved in the planning of the coup, including military officials and ministers. Additionally, the federal police also discovered audio discussing the coup, revealing further identities of participants guiding the march on January 8th. “I think people can go down. And really get in the way. Because when the crowd gets there, there’s no police force that can stop it. They’ll run over the fence and invade. Then they won’t be able to get it back,” said Lieutenant Colonel Guilherme de Almeida.

Further evidence was presented by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), accusing Bolsonaro of leading the plot. This steered the case before the Supreme Court (STF), which has now accepted the proceedings against Bolsonaro. He is being tried for an attempted coup d’état, violent abolition of the Democratic State of Law, armed criminal organization, damage qualified by violence and serious threat against the Union’s heritage and deterioration of cultural heritage. The PGR presented a list of 34 people involved, highlighting Bolsonaro and his allies’ acts against democracy since 2021; from speeches against the electoral system to the logistical blockade of election day. According to the PGR, Bolsonaro and seven others are suspected to have been the architects, while six others managed and carried out the anti-democratic actions. Further 12 are suspected of pressuring members of the army to support the coup, and another eight acted as the “misinformation office”. Bolsonaro says he is not involved with any of the allegations.

The coup was followed by a diverse range of reactions and feelings from society. The unique quality of this planned coup was the use and exploitation of civilians as puppets for the invasion of institutions. They influenced hundreds of people through misinformation campaigns on social media; months of fake news being spread in WhatsApp groups, convincing civilians of electoral fraud and motivating nationalists to comply with the proposed coup, which inevitably led to the conviction of many duped civilians. Furthermore, they managed to create an illusion of a march turned violent rather than an attempted coup, by claiming a lack of involvement from the authorities.

Fact is that Brazilian democracy was tested, and survived.

Jurisdictional institutions continue to reveal the depth and interconnections of the attempted coup, raising greater concern among the general public about how close to success the coup was and about internal divisions of the army. The following months will be decisive for the future of the 34 people involved in the crimes of January 8th.

Author: Maria Cerdeira, Editor: Rosey Elizabeth Holland

Photo credit: Bolsonaristas atacam as sedes dos Três Poderes em 8 de janeiro • 08/01/2023REUTERS/Antonio Cascio