Last week it was an attempted autogolpe in Peru and the breakup of a neo-Monarchist/Qanon conspiracy in Germany. This week we have Bolsonaro’s supporters in Brazil turning increasingly violent. From the Washington post today:
Supporters of defeated President Jair Bolsonaro attacked federal police headquarters in Brazil’s capital late Monday, an escalation in the ongoing demonstrations against the October election result.
The attack, hours after Brazil certified the election result Monday, put the country back on edge after a turbulent election season marred by disinformation and political violence. Supporters of Bolsonaro, including his own son, have asserted without providing evidence that the election was stolen — a claim that has been echoed by social networks and by right-wing publications online and on television. Some of the most ardent Bolsonaro fans blocked highways in dozens of cities in the immediate aftermath of the election.
This sounds all too disturbingly familiar.
In a speech outside the presidential palace on Friday — his first public statement in 40 days — Bolsonaro appealed to the crowd to take matters into their own hands, without expressly telling them to fight: “You decide my future and where I will go. … You decide which way the armed forces go,” he said. “Nothing is lost.”
Political analysts say Bolsonaro and key allies are attempting a delicate balancing act as Lula’s inauguration approaches: Actively encouraging a coup could backfire politically, but there is value in maintaining popular momentum for a future campaign. They have sought advice from prominent allies in the United States, including former Trump advisers Stephen K. Bannon and Jason Miller…
In Brasilia Monday evening, footage taken by bystanders, demonstrators and journalists appeared to show protesters setting fire to cars and buses and police officers trying to disperse them with pepper spray and tear gas. One video appeared to show a group of Bolsonaro supporters trying to push a bus off a highway overpass in Brasilia.