Brazilian crowds stormed their capital building demanding Bolsonaro be installed as president.
Déjà Vu.
Brazil is an unflattering mirror.
The New York Times headlines "The attack on Brazil's seat of government resembles the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021." Of course. They are the mainstream media. But sometimes the analogues are so direct they cannot be ignored, even by the conservative media.The New York Post put it in their headline:
Newsmax, the TV network positioned to the right of Fox, made the Brazilian riot its top story. They called it a "grim echo."
Supporters of Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded and defaced the country's Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court on Sunday, in a grim echo of the U.S. Capitol invasion two years ago by fans of former President Donald Trump.
National Review, for nearly 70 years a voice of old-school conservative opinion, ended their story with this paragraph:
The widespread rioting, driven by a refusal to accept the results of an election, mirrored the events of January 6, 2021, when thousands of supporters of former president Trump overran the U.S. Capitol.
Americans observed a blustery authoritarian rule-breaking Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, face a challenge from the institutionalist politician on his left. Trump publicly supported Bolsonaro. Before the election Bolsonaro said that if he lost then the election must have been rigged against him and he would not accept the results. He came in second in the original election and then lost the run-off election to Lula da Silva, who was sworn in on January 1, 2023. This weekend a crowd of Bolsonaro supporters broke into government offices demanding the election be overturned.
Americans are divided on what happened on January 6, 2021. Some Republicans see Trump as a victim and Biden as a senile communist destroying America. Therefore, if the election had been overturned then Americans would get better government--a worthy goal justifying the irregular transition of power. Republicans see politicians they admire minimize the January 6 insurrection. This week Trump praised Ashli Babbitt, who was killed while breaking through a barricaded door leading to the House chamber. It isn't just Trump. The new House majority, now unanimous in support of McCarthy, will stop investigation of the riot and turn its attention to condemning the investigators and investigating them.
The events in Brazil look clearer and simpler to Americans. The riots fulfill the stereotype we have of Latin American government disfunction, a strong man dictator in a "banana republic" overthrowing an election by deceit and force. We see in Brazil an illegitimate effort to overthrow the government. We witness the condemnation of the world. We are relieved to see the riot put down. It is so clear--in Brazil.
Brazil is a distant mirror, but we can see an ugly vision of ourselves. There is proof of this pudding in the way that Fox News treats Brazil's riots. Fox News carefully monitors audience flow and they know their viewers tune out when they see news or opinion that disturbs their narrative. The analog between Brazil and the January 6 incident is obvious. Fox News viewers would see it and be troubled. Last night, while every media outlet had the Brazil riots as a top story, Fox News covered it as its 64th story. This morning, while every other news source continues to look at the coup attempt, the Fox website had 164 stories posted as of 5:00 a.m. Pacific time. There was no mention whatever of Brazil.
That silence makes a point. When we see January 6 played out in Latin America, Americans see it as clearly wrong. Fox viewers know it, too, which is why Fox doesn't show it.
Peter, your mirror analogy is spot on.