Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory in the October 30, 2022 elections represented more than just a change of power. It symbolized the electoral defeat of an authoritarian project that, from the outset, refused to accept the limits of democracy. From that moment on, sectors of the far right began to openly operate to delegitimize the election results, stimulating political radicalization and fueling the idea of ​​institutional rupture.

In the days following the election, Jair Bolsonaro’s silence and the complicity of his allies opened the way for the organization of road blockades and encampments in front of military barracks. These acts, far from being spontaneous demonstrations, functioned as permanent centers of coup-mongering agitation, with explicit calls for military intervention and a direct attack on the Democratic Rule of Law.

The escalation of violence became evident in December 2022. After Lula’s inauguration, Brasília was the scene of vandalism and attempts to intimidate institutions.

A few days later, the attempted bombing at the capital’s airport revealed that hate speech had gone beyond the symbolic realm and become a real threat to the lives of the population and the stability of the country.

Even with Lula’s inauguration on January 1, 2023, the coup movement did not back down. On the contrary: the encampments were maintained and new calls circulated on social media, urging supporters to “seize power.”

The result of this coordination was the attack of January 8, 2023, when the headquarters of the National Congress, the Supreme Federal Court (STF), and the Presidential Palace were invaded and vandalized in an explicit coup attempt.

The democratic response was swift and firm. Mass arrests, intervention in the security of the Federal District, and the opening of cases in the Supreme Federal Court marked the beginning of a historic process of accountability.

Unlike other moments in Brazilian history, the coup attempt was not treated as a tolerable deviation, but as a crime against democracy.

This path culminated, in 2025, in the conviction and imprisonment of Jair Bolsonaro and other leaders of the coup plot.

The fact that a former president is being held accountable for his actions and serving a sentence symbolizes a fundamental political shift: that there is no longer room for impunity or for those who distrust the strength of democracy.