Brazil is, as is known, in political trouble for several weeks. The latest political upheaval resulted from the presidential elections held in October last year that led to the victory of former president Lula da Silva by a small margin. According to available sources, Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right politician, disputed the election and his supporters carried out protests creating havoc in the capital city of Brazil, camped outside army bases to encourage a coup d’état and stormed Congress, the presidential palace and Supreme Court. Post-electoral protests and chaos in Brazil have led to strict measures by the newly elected and sworn-in President and the arrest of more than one thousand far-right supporters of Bolsonaro by law-enforcement officials.
Though electoral fraud claims were made by Bolsonaro and his supporters, various sources make it convincing that the election was credible. According to available sources, fact-checking agencies and independent election security experts found fraud claims false. The Superior Electoral Court, Brazil’s supreme electoral court, certified the results and a report by the armed forces of Brazil did not find specific problems with the election (though it highlighted potential vulnerabilities of voting machines). It is pertinent to note that elections lead to the win of one candidate or party and the defeat of another and the peaceful acceptance of the outcome of credible elections is rendered crucial for politics, although the un-acceptance of electoral results and post-election violence are not uncommon in the world.
Protests and riots perhaps came after years of attacks by Bolsonaro on Brazil’s election systems and the unwillingness to the acceptance of the electoral outcomes. Notably, the former president repeatedly expressed his distrust over electoral voting machines during his presidency and told in July 2021 that he may not accept the 2022 election result under the current voting system, claiming without providing any convincing evidence that it is vulnerable to fraud, leading to widespread political criticisms in Brazil. Also, polarized political culture, the decreasing faith in the federal political leadership and political fanaticism inspired by the US Capitol rampage after the 45th US presidential election have probably played some roles behind the post-election riot, rendered unprecedented in the history of Brazil.
Since the presidential election was credible, it is definitely desirable that opposition leaders and supporters accept the electoral outcomes and refrain from unreasoned riots. Notably, the concerned authorities are currently investigating the post-election riots. But the exact causes of the riots need to be identified from a broader viewpoint to reduce the chance of the reoccurrence of such events and develop a political culture of the peaceful acceptance of the mandate of people. Also, the controversy over the integrity of the electoral process in Brazil and electoral voting machines needs to be resolved. In this respect, further identification of the loopholes in the electoral process and the possibility of fraud with electoral voting machines may be helpful.
Amir M Sayem
Chief Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine
