Feb. 6, 2023
By Yahir Perea
Staff Writer
On Oct. 8, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected president of Brazil. Supporters of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro protested over the election. Soon these protests became more violent, turning into riots due to Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters claiming voter fraud and media outlets, which caused outrage by pushing misinformation campaigns and controversy surroundings De Silva, who had been in jail for corruption.
On Jan. 8, Bolsonaro’s supporters invaded the capital, Brasilia, destroying government buildings, statues, and art pieces in addition to creating roadblocks, setting fires and even invading the National Congress building. Since then, at least 1,200 people were detained in connection to the riots. These protests came in an organized manner because they were planned on apps including Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and Whatsapp.
History teacher Mr. Tessalone said the rioters’ actions are unreasonable because there is a lack of evidence and facts to back up the claim of voter fraud.
“You’re going against a well-documented loss, and using violence to stake your claims is never a good thing,” Tessalone said.
Highways and roads were heavily impacted by the protests. Around 23 states of Brazil have reportedly seen 267 roadblocks, as reported by data from the Federal Highway Police. Rioters have even gone into the Supreme Court in Brazil, which was filled with protesters.
“If you’re breaking the law, then you should be punished according to the law,” Tessalone said. “If there are some issues, that does definitely leave some gray area, but you’re not supposed to congregate in these places.”
On Jan. 8 Lula signed an emergency decree that put federal authorities in charge of the security of Brazil’s capital until Jan. 31. So far, the dispersal of protesters has been somewhat peaceful.
Unlike Tessalone, freshman Sarah Ezzahir, who is Brazilian, said she supports the protests and does not like they way the government is dealing with protestors.
“It is important when you’re living in a society and you see something that goes against your values or that you are unhappy with. You can be a voice for change.”
“It’s not fair what they’re doing over there,” Ezzahir said. “They have a very good reason to have those riots because they didn’t do a fair vote and a lot of people are feeling like the vote wasn’t fair.”
During the time of the election and after, there have been many media outlets sharing misinformation. Even with Brazil’s military and independent experts confirming no evidence of voter fraud, these media outlets still spread misinformation. The spread of false news is a factor in influencing the riots since independent researchers such as Michele Prado, who study digital movements and the Brazilian far right, singled out Twitter and Telegram as playing a central role in organizing protests.
Ezzahir said voters should research who they vote for since it is necessary for citizens to know whom they are electing.
“I feel like people didn’t really do their research. That’s why it’s so important to do your research,” Ezzahir said.
History teacher Mr. Spence said people should make a change for themselves and their community.
“It is important when you’re living in a society and you see something that goes against your values or that you are unhappy with. You can be a voice for change,” Spence said. “There are different ways to go about being that voice. The interaction in Brazil is definitely more violent in nature.”
Spence said the protesters are trying to take actions they believe will elicit change.
“I think if you ask those people that were involved, they would say that they’re doing what they have to [so they can] make their political voice heard to create a political system that really represents who they are,” Spence said.
Even with protestors pushing for what they believe is right, some leaders of other countries assert that the protests are an attack on Brazil’s democracy. Even U.S. President Joe Biden called the protest “outrageous,” and his national security adviser Jake Sullivan stated that the United States condemns any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil.
“Democracy, in my mind, is all about the freedom of people to voice their opinion, so that’s exactly what these rioters are doing. They’re voicing their opinion,” Spence said.
History teacher Mr. Tessalone said the riots are self-defeating.
“There are different ways of voicing your opinion, and the takeover of government buildings is not the best way to do that,” Tessalone said. “I don’t think violently storming federal buildings and setting up roadblocks is protected free speech.”
The attack on Brazil’s capital has been compared to the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. when the Capitol was looted, occupied and vandalized by supporters of former President Donald Trump. Protestors claimed election fraud due to his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2021 election. Many factors came into play that led to these riots, such as misinformation from social media outlets and even Donald Trump and his administration pushing the claim that the election was stolen. Nevertheless, they had insufficient evidence to back up these claims, and fact-checkers found no evidence of fraud.
“There’s [a] clear connection,” Tessalone said. “Like the protestors in Brazil, protestors in the United States claimed election fraud. It was fed by misinformation from various figures within the Trump administration and by Trump himself.”
