8/1 becomes a commemorative date for the disfigured concept of democracy

The Executive and Judiciary used the first anniversary of the January 8 acts of vandalism in Brasília as a milestone to propagate the narrative that they saved democracy in Brazil. In events this Monday (8), the Lula government and the Federal Supreme Court (STF) once again displayed their particular concept of democracy, which admits censorship and persecution of opponents and disregards fundamental guarantees of the Rule of Law.

The day was marked by attempts by the heads of powers to evoke emotional reactions from the public against the opposition and to raise the banner of social media regulation. During the morning, at the inauguration of an exhibition about 8/1, minister Luís Roberto Barroso, president of the Supreme Court, asked for a minute of silence to play an audio with noises from the break in the buildings of the Três Poderes.

At the “Unshaken Democracy” event, which took place in the afternoon with members of the Three Powers of the Republic, Supreme Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who is also the president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), stated that it is time “to reaffirm the urgent need to neutralize one of the great modern dangers of democracy: the instrumentalization of social networks by the new extremist digital populism”. For him, there is a “need to issue modern regulation” of the internet.

Lula also used his speech at the same event to defend internet regulation. “We saved democracy. But democracy is never ready, it needs to be built and cared for every day,” she said. “Let no one confuse freedom with permission to attack democracy. Freedom is not authorization to spread lies about vaccines on social media,” she added.

The President of the Republic classified “lies, disinformation and hate speech” as “fuel for January 8th”. “Our democracy will be under constant threat until we are firm in regulating social media,” he said. In recent weeks, the government has tried to revive the discussion about PL 2630/2020, called PL das Fake News or Censorship PL.

The PT member also took advantage of his speech to make direct attacks on former president Jair Bolsonaro and his three children who are pursuing a political career. “People who doubt the elections and the legality of the Brazilian ballot box because they lost the elections, why don’t they ask their party to [para fazer] resign all deputies and senators who were elected? His three sons who were elected, why don’t they resign, in protest against the fraudulent ballot box?”, he asked.

In another part of the speech, Lula referred to Bolsonaro as a “former coup president” and even accused his main opponent in the 2022 elections of alluding to violence during the presidential campaign. “If the coup attempt had been successful, […] political opponents and constituted authorities could be shot or hanged in a public square, judging by what the former coup president preached in the campaign and his followers plotted on social media,” he said.

The president of the Senate and Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), who even rehearsed a reaction to the Supreme Court’s arbitrariness at the end of last year, showed his agreement with the heads of the other powers this Monday. “The enemies of democracy spread hatred to deceive and recruit a portion of society. The enemies of democracy use false political discourse to rise to power, to remain in it in an illegitimate way and to disguise their real intentions,” he said.

The president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), did not attend the event citing a health problem in his family. Through social media, he stated that “freedom of demonstration and the fundamental right to protest can never be converted into violence and destruction.” “Democracy, exercised by each of the three powers within the terms defined by the Constitution, is the only possible path to development, prosperity, generation of jobs and income and well-being of Brazilians,” he said.

On social media, government supporters appeal to emotions

Also via social media, Lula, First Lady Janja, the STF and government parliamentarians published content appealing to users’ emotions. Videos produced by communications agencies used techniques to achieve this effect, such as dramatic music and black and white images.

The STF profile on network X published statements from STF ministers about 8/1. Minister André Mendonça, appointed by Bolsonaro to the Supreme Court, stated that “democracy emerged stronger” after the events of last year.

“Instead of having grooves due to January 8th, democracy emerged stronger. Events like this, regardless of the most different perspectives and world views, cannot be legitimized and should not be forgotten. We grew up living with the differences, which presuppose respect, the ability to listen and dialogue. No disagreement justifies the act of violence”, said Mendonça.

Janja published a video with several left-wing celebrities repeating the word “democracy”, such as musicians Gilberto Gil and Chico Buarque, singers Zélia Duncan and Fafá de Belém, and actresses Denise Fraga, Camila Pitanga and Malu Mader, among others.

Federal deputy Guilherme Boulos (PSOL-SP) used a video about 8/1 on his networks to celebrate Bolsonaro’s ineligibility. “Hundreds of coup plotters were arrested, and their leader and inspirer is now ineligible. Democracy won,” he said.

The propaganda of the government and the Judiciary gained echo in media outlets sympathetic to the government and the recent actions of the Supreme Court, which produced documentaries about the 8th of January, giving an air of heroism to the actions of characters such as the Minister of Justice Flávio Dino, who will become join the STF from February, and Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes.

Bolsonaro and opposition criticize Lula’s act on 8/1

Former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and opposition parliamentarians criticized the event held by the Lula government to mark one year since the events of January 8th. Bolsonaro said that the invasion and depredation of the headquarters of the Three Powers was not an attempted coup d’état. For the former president, the decisions of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) against people accused of involvement in acts of vandalism are “absurd”.

Bolsonaro highlighted that there was vandalism, but not an attempted coup on January 8, 2023. “There was vandalism, yes. Some exaggerated, but that type of sentence, 17 years in prison, was not for them,” he said. Bolsonaro is the target of an investigation by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) that investigates the alleged intellectual authorship of the acts of vandalism. The former president denies involvement.

Also on social media, parliamentarians and influencers opposing the PT government criticized the tone of the speeches made by STF ministers and members of the Executive during the “Unshaken Democracy” event. Oppositionists decided to stay away so as not to corroborate the PT narrative that there was an attempted coup.

The deputy leader of the opposition, deputy Maurício Marcon (Podemos-RS), mocked the fact that Lula spoke about democracy and was an ally of South American dictators, such as Nicolás Maduro, from Venezuela; Daniel Ortega, from Nicaragua; and Miguel Díaz-Canel, from Cuba. “Does anyone know if the “democrats” and friends of Lula, Maduro, Ortega and Canel, the dictators of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, respectively, will be present at the event in “defense of democracy”?”, said the deputy.