As we entered into the new year, Brazil entered into a crisis. On January 8th, there was a storming of the Brazil Capital in protest of the recent presidential election. This last October Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had won the election against the most recent president, Jair Bolsonairo, by a hair. 

It isn’t Lula’s first time in office as president of Brazil. He had first served as president in 2003-2011. Many view Lula as a symbol of corruption. In 2017 he was found guilty of laundering money and received a sentence for 10 years. Fortunately for Lula, the judge eventually came forward to say that Lula’s case was biased so he was released from jail in 2019. Though Lula is still disliked by a multitude of people. There are claims of him being racist, sexist, and homophobic.

Around 1,500 people have been arrested at the capitol uprising. Ever since Lula beat Jair Bolsonairo in the election, protesters have set up camps outside the capitol. The storming hadn’t risen out of thin air. There were around 300 arrests from riots that had broken out previous to the event. In one case a man had been arrested for an attempt to detonate a bomb.

These uprisings have affected many citizens living near the capitol. Protesters had set up a blockade on a highway preventing people from driving to their destination which in certain situations like medical emergencies, could be tragic. There was also the man who almost set off a bomb. That could have taken several innocent lives. Authorities tear gassed the areas around the capitol in order to regain control over the building. In the action of tear gassing, both violent and peaceful protesters were gassed. Extra security precautions were made which could be seen as threatening to those who reside in areas around the capital.