2022–2023 Brazilian election protests

 2022–2023 Brazilian election protests (Protest,  riot)

Bolsonaro supporters climbing the ramp of the National Congress of Brazil in 2023
Location	Brazil
Description	The Brazil version of the January 6 2021 riots at the US Capitol?

The 2022–2023 Brazilian election protests began shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 Brazilian general election's second round on October 30, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) was declared the winner over incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in a very tight result. Of relevance is that the elections uses electronic voting machines, known for the potential for manipulation.

While images of protesters storming parliament in January 2023 created the superficial impression of a coup attempt, the event show some conspicuous anomalies from an actual coup, and is most likely part of a strategy of tension, while the supranational deep state installed Lula, its preferred candidate.

The election

What do the Bolsonaro protesters in Brazil want? - BBC News

The second round of the presidential election on 30 October supposedly delivered a win for Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro by the slimmest of all possible margins – 50.9% to 49.1%.

As soon as the election results were announced, Bolsonaro supporters took to the streets in protest, setting up numerous roadblocks. The protesters were motivated by a strong belief that the presidential election suffered from massive electoral fraud, and demanded a public audit the source code used in the voting machines.

A report made by the technical team of the Brazilian Armed Forces, did not reject the possibility of electoral fraud. The Ministry of Defence issued an official note on November 10 to inform that 'the accurate work of the team of military technicians in the supervision of the electronic voting system... does not exclude the possibility of fraud or inconsistency in electronic voting machines and the electoral process of 2022'.

Official storming narrative

On 8 January 2023, pro-Bolsonaro protesters Three Powers Square, vandalizing the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate halls of the National Congress of Brazil in the process; protesters also invaded the Supreme Federal Court palace and the Palácio do Planalto in an attempt to overthrow the Federal Government. The insurrection failed and the Praça was cleared by law enforcement after a few hours; several thousand Bolsonaro supporters were arrested following the event.

Similarities to January 6

The events have some uncanny similarities to the false flag January 6 2021 riots at the US Capitol in the United States, and the German “storming of the Reichstag” in 2020 and the repeat in 2022.

• Bolsonaro refuses to acknowledge his (extremely narrow) electoral defeat, even staying away from the inauguration of his successor, just like Donald Trump.

• Thousands of his unleashed followers storm iconic buildings in the capital, producing striking images that provoke great outrage at home and in the world: much like the storming of the Capitol in Washington.
• Trump-friend Bolsonaro is staying in Republican-ruled Florida, Anderson Torres who used to be Bolsonaro's justice minister and lately was security chief in the capital Brasilia is visiting him. The allegation is that they must conspired together to plan the storming.

Problems

On closer inspection, however, the event - apart from the dramatic pictures - is completely amateurish:

• Only symbols are attacked, but no actual positions of power. No officials are captured, no radio or television stations are taken, or important transport hubs, as would be the case in a standard coup.

• The demonstrations in Brazil have been going on for months and, with few exceptions, have always been very peaceful. The preparations for a large demonstration in Brasilia on January 8th, 2023 started a week earlier. Those responsible in Brasilia therefore were informed about the expected crowds.

Lula

While the Lula-government is routinely slurred as "communist" by Bolsonaro supporters, this is a misnomer. Michel Chossudovsky points out that "Throughout the western hemisphere as well as in Western Europe, the Left has endorsed the Lula presidency without examining the underlying implications. The 2023 Lula government has been casually categorized as a victory against US imperialism. While the "progressive" and “Leftist” labels prevail, key political appointments had already been approved by the Washington Consensus. De facto, it is a centre-rightist government "with leftist characteristics". 

Lula is a firm supporter of Joe Biden: "Biden is a breath for democracy in the world." Lula’s running mate, Vice President Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Jr. (former governor of Sao Paulo) is an avowed neoliberal committed to privatizing State property on behalf of Brazil’s external creditors. He also has links to Opus Dei.

Of relevance is that the Lula government has stated its intention to start an intense Covid jab campaign,. After taking power, the Brazilian government as of 2024 is one of the most fanatical, having added the jabs to the mandated vaccine schedule for children under 5, under the threat of taking away child support.

Judge as chief censor

Justice Alexandre de Moraes was appointed as the nation’s top electoral officer in August 2022. In the run-up to the presidential election, authorities grantedhim unilateral power to order tech companies to remove many online posts and videos — one of the most aggressive actions taken by any country to censor "false information".

Under rules passed in October, the elections chief can order the immediate removal of content that he believes has violated previous take-down orders. Social networks must comply with those demands within two hours or face the potential suspension of their services in Brazil. Justice Moraes ordered social networks to remove thousands of posts and arrested numerous supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro without a trial for posts on social media that he claims 'attacked Brazil’s institutions', namely his own court. In addition to sending some of former President Jair Bolsonaro's friends and supporters to jail, Moraes ordered the confiscation of their electronic devices and the freezing of their personal bank accounts. The decisions drew outcry from supporters of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, as well as from civil-rights experts, who said it represented a dangerous, authoritarian expansion of power that could be used to swing the presidential contest.

One of the materials censored by Moraes refers to a 2018 federal police inquiry which investigated how hackers might have attacked the computers of the Superior Electoral Tribunal.

Bolsonaro

Approximately 81 percent of Brazilians were "fully vaccinated" during his government, but Bolsonaro has also been one of the few world politicians to not be fully onboard the forced injection drive, calling on his countrymen to stop being "sissies", and that Covid lockdowns were "crazy".

Indications of CIA involvement

There are indications that United States intelligence services prepared to rig the election to install Lula from at least as early as 2021, by putting pressure on Bolsonaro and its traditional allies in the military and police to accept the result no matter what.

In August of 2021, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visited Bolsonaro in Brazil and delivered a stern message not to "mess around" with the elections. This was in response to Bolsonaro raising criticisms of the all-electronic voting system in Brazil, and his indication that he may not accept an election result unless another method was employed.

In May 2022, William Burns, Director of the CIA - an organization known for its numerous election riggings - urged top Brazilian officials during multiple meetings to push Bolsonaro "to stop spreading claims of widespread voter fraud and other forms of electoral malfeasance."

George Soros, who has positioned several of his Open Society members in the new cabinet called the election of Lula "crucial" and said that it will "influence the course of history". Pedro Abramovay, ecutive director of the Open Society Foundations in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2013, became a member of Lula da Silva’s transition team.

Infiltrators?

Deputy for Mato Grosso, José Medeiros accused the PT of sabotaging the demonstration in Brasília, which, according to him, would have continued peacefully: "Each speech like this reinforces the suspicion that the invasion was planned by the PT. In 2013, the black blocs infiltrated to sabotage the peaceful demonstration. It's called a false flag attack", wrote the parliamentarian on Twitter.

Bolsonaro ban

On June 30th, 2023, Brazil’s supreme court barred Bolsonaro from running for office for 8 years. The move to bar Bolsonaro from seeking public office was based on his decision to summon foreign ambassadors to his official residence in July 2022, 11 weeks before the election's 2 October first round. At the meeting, Bolsonaro made claims against Brazil’s electronic voting system which caused a "public outcry" and were denounced by one supreme court judge as politically motivated disinformation. Judge Floriano de Azevedo Marques claimed Bolsonaro had tried to obtain an unfair advantage in the election with his "abnormal" and "immoral" actions. In belittling Brazil’s democracy in front of the foreign audience, the judge accused Bolsonaro of making their country appear like "a little banana republic".

 

Related Quotation

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva	“There are many other regional powers that can influence the course of history. Brazil stands out. The election of Lula at the end of last year was crucial. On January 8th there was a coup attempt much like January 6th, 2021, in the US. Lula handled it masterfully and established his authority as president. Brazil is on the front-line of the conflict between open and closed societies; it is also on the front-line of the fight against climate change. He must protect the rainforest, promote social justice, and reignite economic growth all at the same time. He will need strong international support because there is no pathway to net zero emissions if he fails.”	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva George Soros	16 February 2023

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