The Insurrectionist Playbook: Jair Bolsonaro and the National Congress of Brazil

Abstract

This study unpacks the 2022 Brazilian Presidential campaign marked by multiple claims of electoral fraud and calls for a coup d’état by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. We identify the narrative frames underpinning this insurrectionist playbook by analyzing Bolsonaro’s statements during the presidential campaign. We subsequently test the penetration of this playbook on members of the Brazilian National Congress during the campaign trail and the transition of power to the opposition candidate, when pro-Bolsonaro protesters attempted to overthrow the Federal Government. Our analyses lend support to the thesis that the coup d’état was not successful due to the dwindling support beyond the hard-core Bolsonaro base. Our results also describe an insurrectionist playbook largely centered on the blueprint of false claims of electoral fraud, a playbook that can be monitored through the public statements of elected officials. We conclude with a discussion of our findings and recommendations for future research.

Brazilian Capitol attack: The interaction between Bolsonaro’s supporters’ content, WhatsApp, Twitter, and news media

“…Our evidence suggests that, in addition to spreading content directly related to Brazilian politics (e.g., praise for the military and criticism of Lula da Silva's government), Bolsonaro's supporters used nomenclature and narratives similar to those used at the U.S. Capitol attack, such as religious language (Bastos & Recuero, 2023) and false information that members of the left have infiltrated the patriots and orchestrated the attack (Wendling, 2023). These findings establish that there are common values spread by right-wing extremists in the United States and Brazil.…”