By Eric Vandenbroeck
and co-workers
Brazil Today
In the lead-up to the
vote, Bolsonaro – with corruption allegations and dimming approval ratings –
spread false rumors that Brazil’s electronic voting system was susceptible to
fraud. Protests broke out months before the first vote was cast and continued
after Bolsonaro was defeated. Bolsonaro supporters erected roadblocks along
Brazil’s highways and used hashtags like #BrazilianSpring, coined by former
Trump strategist Steve Bannon, to rally opposition to Lula’s victory.
Bolsonaro has not
conceded defeat since the election results were announced. Instead, a coalition
led by his allies filed a quickly dismissed complaint to Brazil’s Superior
Electoral Court in an attempt to invalidate ballots processed in the electronic
voting machines. Then in December, protesters tried to invade the federal
police headquarters in Brasilia after the electoral court certified Lula’s
victory earlier in the day.
The threat of
violence intensified as Lula prepared to be sworn in on 1 January, with
Bolsonaro supporters setting up camps near army barracks to push for a military
coup. An alleged bomb plot was also thwarted. The Sunday attack on
Brazil’s government buildings came one week after Lula’s inauguration. On
Thursday, Lula told reporters that he wondered whether the rioters had help
from within the government.
A group of 46
lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives has called on the
administration of President Joe Biden to
revoke any US visa held by former President Jair Bolsonaro in the wake of
Sunday’s attack on Brazil’s capital.
The unlawful and
violent attack on January 8 against Brazilian government institutions was built
upon months of pre- and post-election fabrications by Mr
Bolsonaro and his allies,” the lawmakers said in the letter.
A similar letter was sent by the Senate majority whip, Richard
Durbin, who announced plans to introduce legislation that would make those who
undermine a free and fair democratic election or peaceful democratic transfer
of power overseas ineligible for a US visa. Durbin will introduce the
legislation when the Senate is back in session.
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