The attack on the seats of democratic power in Brazil by supporters of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday has just put pressure on the American government of Joe Biden, who has been called for 24 hours by several Democrats to quickly expel the populist from Florida , where he took refuge before the end of his mandate.
The “Trump of the tropics”, as he is nicknamed, took up temporary residence in the suburbs of Orlando on December 30, just two days before the official end of his term as head of Brazil. He is the target of several investigations for corruption during his sole mandate and has just lost his presidential immunity which until then allowed him to escape possible criminal prosecution.
It was from the United States that he witnessed, on Sunday, the insurrection led by his faithful against the buildings of the executive, legislative and judicial powers of the young democracy of South America, in Brasília, the capital. The attack came just eight days after President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva took office, defeating the populist in the presidential election last October, and whose victory has yet to be confirmed. recognized by the fallen populist camp.
“Bolsonaro was an authoritarian leader [qui] used the same strategy as [Donald] Trump to stoke terrorism in his country, and this, in order to take control of the government, declared Sunday evening, on the CNN network, the Democratic congressman from Texas and rising figure within the American left Joaquin Castro. He is a dangerous man, who should be sent back to his country of origin, Brazil. The United States should not be a haven for this authoritarian. »
“Nearly two years after the US Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist movements abroad trying to do the same in Brazil,” said House Democrat Alexandria. Ocasio-Cortez while calling on the United States to “stop giving refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida”. “We must stand in solidarity with the democratically elected government of [Lula] “, she added on the network Twitter.
Several scenarios
On Monday, the White House remained cryptic on a possible expulsion of the Brazilian populist, who has been living since the end of December in a luxury apartment in the Orlando area, just a few kilometers from the Disney theme park. The man, who entered the United States while still president of Brazil, likely obtained an A-1 visa, reserved for heads of state and diplomats. The validity of this type of visa has no time limit.
“The United States, like any other sovereign nation, can, however, deport a foreigner, even one who entered legally on a visa, for any reason,” ex-US diplomat John Feeley said on Monday. quoted by Reuters news agency. “It is a purely sovereign decision for which no legal justification is required. »
Another possible scenario: Bolsonaro could be the subject of an official request for extradition if “the president of the Supreme Court of Brazil, Alexandre de Moraes, decides to issue an arrest warrant against him”, summarizes in an interview with the To have to political scientist Luísa Turbino Torres, a specialist in South America and Brazilian social movements at Florida Atlantic University. “This procedure, however, risks taking a long time, but it would be an excellent opportunity for Brazilian institutions to show that they are strong and above all in line with democratic values, and this, after four years of Bolsonaro’s presidency”, adds she.
On Monday, his wife, Michelle, said Jair Bolsonaro was admitted to a Florida hospital, where he was “under observation” for “intestinal problems”. The ex-president, however, has led a very rich and active social life since his arrival in the United States, where he met several Brazilian stars living in the southern state and distributed autographs to members of the diaspora who support him. He also showed himself on December 31 having his last meal as Brazilian president in a restaurant of a famous American fried chicken chain.
Unanimous conviction
In a joint press release, US President Joe Biden, his Mexican counterpart, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, meeting for two days this week at a Summit in Mexico City, condemned “the attacks of the 8 January against Brazilian democracy and against a peaceful transfer of power”. They also expressed their unanimous support for Lula, who resumed work on Monday at the Planalto Palace, seat of the Brazilian executive and target of Bolsonarian insurgents on Sunday. “We stand with Brazil as it defends its democratic institutions,” they added.
In Brazil, the new head of state stood alongside the heads of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the Supreme Court to condemn “the terrorist acts, vandalism, criminals and putschists” of which Brasília was the target on Sunday and to stand “in defense of democracy”, indicates a joint statement posted on the Twitter account of the Brazilian presidency.
The attack on the democratic symbols of Brazilian power came as no surprise to observers and analysts of social networks in Brazil, who have seen this wind of anger rising for several weeks, fed, as in the United States under Donald Trump, by the disinformation and the alternative realities constructed by Bolsonaro and his spokespersons. “For years, our country has been undergoing a very strong process of radicalization of citizens towards extremist opinions, mainly online,” Michele Prado, an independent analyst of digital movements and the Brazilian far right, said on Monday, quoted by the washington post. “But over the past two weeks, I have seen increasing calls from people inciting extremism and calling for direct action to dismantle public infrastructure. »
The role of social networks
Much like in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021, social media has served to amplify conspiracy theories about stealing elections and manipulating the results of the last presidential election. Without ever providing proof and despite the numerous denials expressed by the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Brazil.
These same networks, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, focused last week on calls for Bolsonaro loyalists, in those echo chambers of populism, to go en masse to Brasília to reclaim a power that they have naively been and numerically persuaded to have lost by a fraud which ultimately only exists in the fantasy of their leaders.
“These platforms [de médias sociaux] argued that they had emergency protocols in place in cases like what happened [dimanche], summarized Nina Santos, researcher at the Brazilian National Institute of Science and Technology on digital democracy. But what we observed is that either [ces protocoles] do not exist, or they have not been put in place, she added in the pages of the Guardian. Videos, live transmissions with thousands of people watching, videos calling on people to take to the streets, remained online for more than five hours. »
With Agence France-Presse