MAGA Capitol Attackers – Brazilian Style

 

For those who have compared the nascent and violent political instability in the United States to so-called “banana republics” – generally a pejorative reference to the rise and fall of dictatorships in Latin America – there may be some justification. While the battles in Latin America are punctuated with alternating populism, socialism and ultra-rightwing military coups – perhaps more extreme than the polarization we have witnessed in the last decade here in the United States – it seems clear that this plague has drifted into the West. Whether the rise of Marie Le Pen in France, Victor Orban in Hungary, Recep Erdogan in Turkey or Donald Trump in the United States, the underlying discomfort at global changes and the rise of conspiracy theories are clear evidence that the whole world seems to be going “bananas.”

The most recent reflection of this reality, where Jair Bolsonaro lost his presidential reelection bid in Brazil and his followers mirrored the 1/6/21 MAGA assault on our own Capitol, is the rightwing assault against government offices in Brazil’s state capital, Brasilia. Bolsonaro fell to a leftist candidate, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, in 2022 by a very slim margin. Bolsonaro, who identified with Donald Trump, may not have been as blatant as the former US President in his and his followers’ cries of a “stolen election,” but the violence in Brasilia did result in the arrest and prosecution of a number of those who assaulted the Brazilian Capitol. The September 15th Associated Press summarized the parallel arrest and prosecution of rightwing attackers in Brasilia this past January 8th (pictured above):

“Brazil’s Supreme Court handed a 17-year prison sentence Thursday [9/15] to a supporter of former President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed top government offices on Jan. 8 [this year] in an effort to forcefully restore the right-wing leader to office.… Aécio Lúcio Costa Pereira, 51, is the first of several participants in the uprising to be prosecuted.

“In January, cameras at the Senate filmed him wearing a shirt calling for a military coup and recording a video of himself praising others who had also broken into the building… Almost 1,500 people were detained on the day of the riots, though most have been released… The majority of the 11 justices of the court ruled that Pereira committed five crimes: criminal association, staging a coup, violent attack on the rule of law, qualified damage, and destruction of public assets. They sentenced him to 17 years in prison… Pereira denied any wrongdoing and claimed he took part in a peaceful demonstration of unarmed people.

“Three other defendants also were standing trial Thursday 9/14] as part of the same case, and a final decision for each defendant is due in the coming days… The rioters refused to accept Bolsonaro’s defeat to leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose inauguration took place one week before the uprising.

“Lula, who also governed Brazil between 2003 and 2010, beat Bolsonaro by the narrowest margin in Brazil’s modern history… The buildings of Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential palace were trashed by the pro-Bolsonaro mob… They bypassed security barricades, climbed onto roofs, smashed windows and invaded all three buildings, which were largely vacant on the weekend of the incident.

“Lula has accused Bolsonaro of encouraging the uprising, as have many of Bolsonaro’s critics, and prosecutors are investigating his potential role in inciting the mayhem. The former president has denied any wrongdoing.” Sound familiar? Bolsonaro was vastly less assertive than Mr Trump has been. While Bolsonaro is still living under a legal cloud, spending lots of time in Florida, he is not out of the woods yet.

This growing global nationalistic violence is born of the same underlying mega-issues we are facing here. Monumental change focused heavily on rising prices, income inequality and immigration… with a little left over for climate change. In the past, this economic disparity found resonance in the politics of the left, but the shift into nationalism has made villains of immigrants and minorities.

There is an uneasy feeling around the world that some sort of conspiracy has come together to dilute traditional incumbent power groups, fomented lawlessness and shifted massive wealth to a global cabal of greedy and power-hungry billionaires. And the solution often seems to rest with a non-nonsense strongman who can force a return to a better past. Make Brazil (or France, Turkey, Hungary, etc.) great again. Blame minorities, Jews, immigrants and shut them down?

The reality is that these efforts pretend that only one man “can fix it,” and the simplistic remedies only exacerbate the underlying issues… and destabilize the relevant nation state. Cult leaders and faith in conspiracy theories and fundamental religion are the hallmarks of this rising nationalism… a trend that could easily lead to civil if not expanded warfare on a global basis. That the adherents actually believe they are championing a sustainable solution to their ills leads to denial, chaos and sometimes the collapse of an entire nation or political system. For those who believe that autocracy is the only path, I recommend a deep dive into the realities in China, Russia, Venezuela, and North Korea. It’s a bit like Ron DeSantis telling Americans he wants to make the entire country “just like Florida.” Logic does not work against cultism and sheer faith.

I’m Peter Dekom, and the seminal changes around the world will not be stopped by strongman autocracy, but that does not seem to be much of a deterrent to confused and frustrated classes who cannot grasp how so much change cannot be stopped.