When supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the capital’s seat of government on Sunday, everyone’s mind flashed back to the events of Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. The two assaults on democracy were driven by many of the same forces, with similar ideologies, similar playbooks—and some of the same players.
Brazil
The inauguration of Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva on Jan. 1 was a moment of triumph and an opportunity to play regional leader and global statesman, a symbol that Brazil is back on the world stage. However, as this weekend’s riots in Brasilia make clear, it was just the opening of what will be a long four years.
Nowhere is the challenge of recovering from the pandemic and the fallout from the war in Ukraine more pressing than in Latin America, the region that was arguably the world’s hardest-hit during the “polycrisis.” For governments hoping they will be able to retake the ground lost in the past three years, the task looks gargantuan.