Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn4wx9zlpj5o
After losing the Presidential Election in Brazil in October of 2022, right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro was accused of planning a coup to overthrow the Brazilian Government and assassinate the left-wing President-Elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Bolsonaro is accused of plotting with military commanders and even inciting an insurrection on January 8, 2023 after criticizing the electoral system. Bolsonaro is currently on trial awaiting the verdict. He denies any ties with these plans and President Trump defended him by placing a 50% tariff on Brazil’s imports.
I think the situation Brazil is being put through sounds a lot like something that happened in the United States. A former president lost an election and prompted people to have an insurrection where they storm the Government’s capital buildings. I think that Brazil is following the same patterns as our country, and its people are dividing and turning against each other. The Brazilian people are becoming polarized and I wonder if it is mainly due to social media, like the US. Social media won’t show someone something that contradicts their ideals, even if it is the truth. Polarization is one of the biggest problems that face the world as a whole. The most important building block of a state is the people. And if they turn on each other then is there even a unified sense of nationalism? The one thing that differs Brazilians from Americans is that the Brazilians can agree that President Trump needs to stay in his lane.
The main stakeholders involved are former President Bolsonaro, current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the Brazilian people. I think there is much Jair Bolsonaro could do but I also think he will do whatever he can to get his supporters to fight for him. As for President Lula da Silva, I think he should focus on suggesting policy that meets somewhere in the middle, just for now. If he does any controversial move it will only motivate rioters even more. I think the people are the most important stakeholders because as a whole they could try to focus on combating polarization by listening to the other side.
This event relates to the concept of sovereignty. As Brazil faces internal issues, the United States tries to intervene by implementing 50% tariffs in support of Jair Bolsonaro. The Brazilian public as a whole agreed that this violates their sovereignty because it is their right and responsibility to deal with their issues. This relates to the themes of peace and conflict because Bolsonaro has caused a tear in the nation of Brazil, breaking the peace and causing people to turn toward conflict.