Brazilian Democracy Under Attack

A woman, protected by a demonstrator in a bulletproof jacket, prays on her knees in front of a police cordon during the riot in Brazil's capital city, on January 8, 2023. Thousands of far-right and christian evangelical extremists, dissatisfied with the defeat of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, gathered in Brasilia for a massive protest. Rioters, coming from all over the country, assaulted the Presidential Palace, the Federal Supreme Court and the National Congress. They were calling for a military intervention to remove the newly elected president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. After hours of confrontation Brazilian special forces managed to disperse the protesters and to arrest more than 2000 Bolsonaro supporters.