Last Wednesday, Trump threatened 50 percent tariffs on Brazil unless the country ended its prosecution of its former far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro. (Bolsonaro was a key Trump ally while in office, and embraced the moniker “Trump of the Tropics” on the campaign trail.) And perhaps another reason for Trump’s admiration: Bolsonaro is charged with orchestrating an unsuccessful coup that shares many similarities to Trump’s January 6 riots.
After Bolsonaro lost the 2023 election to left-wing candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known affectionately as Lula), his supporters camped around military barracks to try and convince soldiers to overthrow the government. After that didn’t work, thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed Brazil’s Supreme Court and Congress. These rioters were fueled by unfounded claims of election fraud spread by Bolsonaro, who has yet to concede that he lost the election. Bolsonaro, who is currently taking the stand in his trial, continues to deny involvement in a coup attempt. But prosecutors allege that he met with army officials to discuss the logistics of a forceful takeover of the government. Other members of Bolsonaro’s inner circle have been arrested for plotting to assassinate Lula.
But Brazilians aren’t taking Trump’s interference in the trial lying down. This week, thousands of people rallied in the streets of Sao Paulo to protest the tariffs. Protestors burned Trump effigies as they demanded he refrain from trying to interfere with the Brazilian justice system. Lula, in response to Trump’s threat, said “Brazil is a sovereign country with independent institutions that will not be told what to do.” (The Real News)
Protestors burned an effigy of Trump, who I admit looks good in cardboard. Image credit: Inside Edition
This story was adapted from the Current Affairs News Briefing. Subscribe today!
