Did Donald Trump’s allies influence Capitol-like riots in Brazil?

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In what appears to be a repeat of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, thousands of far-right supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Supreme Court, Congress, and the presidential palace on Sunday (8 January).

The riots came weeks after Bolsonaro lost a presidential election in October last year to mark the return of leftist former president Luiz Incio Lula da Silva.

Lula da Silva blamed his predecessor Bolsonaro for encouraging his supporters by claiming election fraud.

Bolsonaro, who flew to Florida days before the end of his term, denied the accusation in a tweet, saying peaceful demonstrations were part of democracy but the attack on government buildings crossed the line.

– Peaceful demonstration, in the form of law, is part of democracy. However, depredations and attacks on public buildings such as those that occurred today, as well as those perpetrated by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule.

Jair M. Bolsonaro 2️⃣2️⃣ (@jairbolsonaro) January 9, 2023

Parallels between the riots at the US Capitol and the search of top government buildings in Brazil have raised eyebrows about the role of Trump supporters.

According to reports, former US president Donald Trump’s allies have fueled narratives of a “stolen election” in Brazil to cast doubt on the results of the October presidential election.

How are there parallels between the attack in Brazil and the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6? Did Trump supporters influence the riots in Brazil? Let’s take a closer look.

Riots in the US Capitol and Brazil attacks

On January 6, 2021, hundreds of protesters, including far-right groups such as Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, protesting the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election stormed Congress.

The attack occurred on a day when US senators were crammed into the Capitol to certify the results of the 2020 election, won by Democratic Party leader Joe Biden.

Addressing supporters at a “Save America” ​​rally near the White House, Trump, who was president at the time, asked them to march “peacefully” on the Capitol.

Further, in support of unsubstantiated claims and rumors of massive voter fraud, he told them to “fight like hell”, according to the BBC.

Hundreds of protesters then took to the Capitol grounds pushing through barriers, chanting, “Whose Capitol? Our Capitol, according to NPR.

They soon entered the building, overpowering the Capitol police.

Donald Trump supporters enter the US Capitol in 2021. AFP File Photo

The police finally restored order after four hours.

In an eerily similar series of incidents, Bolsonaro supporters wearing bright yellow and green Brazilian flag shirts attacked the country’s institutions in the capital Brasilia — smashing windows, flooding parts of Congress a sprinkler system, vandalized artwork and stole the country’s original 1988 Constitution, Reuters reported.

After more than three hours, military police recaptured Braslias Three Powers Square, where three government buildings are located.

“These vandals, who we can call … fanatical fascists, have done something unprecedented in the history of this country,” President Lula said at a press conference during an official trip to the state of Sao Paulo, according to to Reuters. “All the people who did this will be found and they will be punished.”

As with the Capitol riots, the groundwork for the attack on Brazil was laid long ago by claims of election fraud.

Bolsonaro, dubbed the Trump of the Tropics, used similar tactics as the former US president after losing the election such as challenging poll results, refusing to accept defeat and skipping his successors at the inauguration, said the Independent.

Right-wing populist Bolsonaro has been making accusations about Brazil’s election system for years, claims that election officials, election security experts and fact-checkers have vehemently denied, according to Rolling Stone.

Earlier, he said there were failed attempts to steal his victory in the 2018 general elections.

Also last year, before Brazil’s elections even began, social media was flooded with claims of electoral fraud, NPR reported.

Challenging the results of Brazil’s 2022 election, Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party urged the country’s Superior Electoral Court to invalidate ballots recorded by some 2,50,000 machines produced before 2020, saying the votes were compromised. this in the second round of voting.

Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters camped outside military bases in more than 20 cities, some calling for a military coup.

Jair Bolsonaros supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace on Sunday. AP

Demonstrators used handmade signs with the hashtags #BrazilianSpring and #BrazilWasStolen in English to promote claims of election fraud.

Trumps support for Bolsonaro

Trump publicly endorsed Bolsonaro during Brazil’s presidential election last year.

In October last year, Trump praised Bolsonaro as a “great” leader and urged Brazilians to vote for him.

Ending the runoff election as a “big day for Brazil,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, “VOTE for President JAIR BOLSONARO — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!!!”

He also criticized Lula da Silva, calling him “a Radical Left Lunatic who will quickly destroy your Country, according to AFP.

Role of Trump supporters under scrutiny

According to the BBC, the link between Bolsonaro and the Trump movement came into the limelight in November last year.

The Washington Post reported then that Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of Jair Bolsonaro, visited Florida for a meeting with Trump. He also spoke with the US president’s former allies Steve Bannon and Jason Miller, who have reportedly been advising Bolsonaro since his election campaign.

Bannon is fanning baseless speculations about Brazilian election fraud and promoting the promoted hashtag #BrazilianSpring.

“What’s happening in Brazil is a world event,” Bannon told The Washington Post in November. “People say they are disenfranchised. [The movement] has moved beyond Bolsonaro the way in the US it has gone beyond Trump.”

After the chaos on Sunday, Bannon, a former Trump strategist, wrote on the social media site Gettr, “Lula stole the Election Brazilians know this,”. He also called the protesters who stormed the buildings “Freedom Fighters,” the BBC reported.

Notably, Bannon also played a major role in fueling allegations of fraud in the 2020 US election.

According to the BBC, Ali Alexander, one of the leaders of the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” movement, also urged the Bazil mob, saying “Do whatever it takes!”

With inputs from agencies

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