The 2022–2023 Brazilian election protests began shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 Brazilian general election's second round on 30 October, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected president, which led to mass protests and roadblocks nationwide. Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, alleging election fraud, began blocking roads and highways in the country. At least 23 Brazilian states, plus the Federal District, recorded roadblocks as of 1 November, adding up to at least 267 roadblocks according to data from Federal Highway Police (PRF).
The protesters have in common the rejection of the election result, allegation of frauds and call for a coup or a federal or military intervention to reassess the elections results and even to prevent the president inauguration, which affronts the Brazilian Constitution. These blockades have been widely criticized by entities, politicians, and authorities due to the fact that they have caused disruptions to the food supply, paralysis of the supply of products such as fuel and medicines, impediment of the citizen's right to transit, cancellation of flights, crashes, and deaths. They have also been called attacks against democracy, as they contest the electoral process and its legitimacy. The protests have since been characterized as domestic terrorism by part of the Brazilian media.
On 8 January 2023, pro-Bolsonaro demonstrators stormed the Praça dos Três Poderes, assaulting the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate halls of the National Congress of Brazil, the Supreme Federal Court palace and the Palácio do Planalto in an attempt to overthrow the Federal Government. The insurrection failed and the Praça was cleared by law enforcement after a few hours; several thousand Bolsonaro supporters were arrested following the event.
Background
The protests were motivated by the belief that the 2022 Brazilian general election suffered from widespread electoral fraud causing Jair Bolsonaro's loss. During his presidency, Bolsonaro fueled distrust in the electoral system of Brazil. This was further fueled by Bolsonaro supporters alleging fraud of the electronic voting machines malfunctioning and of voting patterns they deemed suspicious, and who mistrust election officials; the military helped oversee the election and found no signs of fraud. Another reason for the protests was dislike for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who had defeated Bolsonaro in the elections after his controversial convictions in Operation Car Wash had been annulled. Additionally, Bolsonaro did not recognize or accept his loss and pave the way for a peaceful transfer of power. Social media was used by supporters of Bolsonaro to spread misinformation about electoral fraud, motivating the protesters.
A video published on 16 October was one of several attempts by Marcos Koury, a member of the military reserve, to incite a general strike of truckers before the second round of elections. The idea was that drivers should paralyze Brazil to show support for Bolsonaro, who would have time to publish a provisional measure that would institute printed voting. Koury's video about the shutdowns was shared in several Bolsonaro groups on Telegram, and days later members of these same groups started advocating roadblocks after the elections. Calls for the shutdown were also made on TikTok and YouTube.
Timeline Road and highway blockades
Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro, including truck drivers, started blockades across the country on the night of 30 October, when the election results were announced. Until the night of 31 October, the PRF (Federal Highway Police) had registered 321 points of blockages or agglomerations on roads in 25 states and the Federal District. The state with the highest number of blocks was Santa Catarina.
The Federal Highway Police announced on 9 November that all federal highways had been cleared of roadblocks and interdictions with a total of 1,087 demonstrations being broken up. Truckers again started blockading roads on 18 November. The Federal Highway Police later stated that the new blockades were different from the previous ones, noting that protesters adopted violent methods which occurred mostly at night.
Attempted invasion of the Guarulhos Airport On the night of October 31, at 8:00 pm, around 50 Bolsonaro supporters closed the two runways of the Hélio Smidt Highway, which provides access to Guarulhos International Airport, which caused delays and flight cancellations. In the early hours of November 1, protesters invaded the runway, a video captured a man wearing a Federal Highway Police uniform cutting the fence to allow Bolsonaro supporters to enter. The following day, PRF agents cleared the highway. In all, 25 flights were canceled. An internal investigation by the PRF confirmed that some agents of the corporation were in fact helping the protesters.
Standoffs with organized football club fans On 1 November, members of the , organized fans of Corinthians dispersed protesters that were interdicting the Marginal Tietê, the main highway in São Paulo, and unfurled a banner saying "We are for democracy". The following day, more fans mobilized against the blockade on the Presidente Dutra Highway (BR-116), which connects São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, dispersing the demonstrators and removing signs and flags that called for federal intervention.
Members of , organized association football fans of Atlético Mineiro, also broke through roadblocks on 1 November, when fans put out tires and cleared traffic on Rodovia Fernão Dias (BR-381), which connects Belo Horizonte to São Paulo.
Two days later, on November 3, Império Alviverde, organized team fans from the Coritiba Foot Ball Club, broke through blockades in the cities of Mafra and Papanduva, on the way back from Caxias do Sul to Curitiba, after departure. The Federal Highway Police had to intervene in the conflicts.
Attacks against police and civilians On 1 November, protesters threatened to burn alive students from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) on the grounds that they were supposedly supporters of president-elect Lula.
Novo Progresso riots Novo Progresso was the most pro-Bolsonaro municipality in Pará in 2022, with Jair Bolsonaro winning 79.60% of the votes in the first round of the elections. The municipality was also known for its high deforestation rates. In 2011, part of the population entered into conflict with the Ibama to defend Ezequiel Antônio Castanha, the greatest deforester of the Amazon rainforest of all time. On November 1, the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) had already requested that the PF investigate and arrest the organizers and participants of the protests in the state.
Protests began in the city on October 30, the day that Jair Bolsonaro's defeat at the polls was announced. On November 2, Ruan Carlos Rodrigues Porto, deputy commander of the Military Police (PM) in the city, was fired for refusing to comply with the unblocking order. 2 days later, on November 4, protesters cut down several trees to block km 332 of the BR-163, including a chestnut tree at risk of extinction that was over a hundred years old and 30 meters tall. The highway was cleared by the PRF the following day, and the MPF asked police officers and the Ibama to investigate the case. During the standoff, police used pepper spray to disperse the population, the blockade had affected fuel supplies and the city council had cancelled classes and rubbish collection.
On 7 November, Federal Highway Police officers attempted to negotiate a peaceful demobilization of the protest, but were attacked by protesters. The protesters threw stones and shot at four vehicles while shouting profanities, a child was poisoned by gas thrown by the police to contain the protesters and had to be hospitalized, one police officer was also injured during the standoff. The Shock Troops of the police were later called to participate in the unblocking.
On the 19th, the highway was completely blocked again. And on the 24th, the Federal Police carried out operation 163LIVRE, which was responsible for 10 temporary arrest warrants and another 11 search and seizure warrants for those involved in the protests for the crimes of illegal coercion, qualified damage, attacks on freedom of work, disobedience and contempt. Six people were temporarily arrested and four became fugitives, one of the fugitives, Claudia Kummer, a 48-year-old teacher and civil servant, was identified as the organizer of the protests, her defense argued that she was innocent and was not in Novo Progresso at the time of her arrest because she was undergoing surgery in Sinop, even though on November 2, she had recorded a video calling for violent protests. On the 29th, the arrested were released.
Later, on January 8, 2023, after the riots in Brasília, protesters yet again closed the BR-163 and set fire to tires, though the protest was later dispersed by Federal Highway and Military Police.
Salute similar to the Nazi salute during protests
On 2 November, in the blockade carried out on the SC-163 highway, in São Miguel do Oeste, Santa Catarina, the protesters held a solemn moment to celebrate the Brazilian National Anthem, during which they made gestures similar to the Nazi salute. Videos of the event were widely shared, and caused numerous reactions of astonishment and condemnation. The state of Santa Catarina has already registered a large expansion of neo-Nazi groups in recent years. Earlier that year, in an operation carried out in October, members of the neo-Nazi group (New SS of Santa Catarina) were arrested. The group had melee weapons, handcrafts and 3D printers intended for the manufacture of weapons. The current deputy governor of the state, and elected federal deputy, Daniela Reinehr, is the daughter of Altair Reinehr, a notorious propagator of Nazi ideas, which the parliamentarian refuses to publicly condemn. A letter was later sent to the Federal Police to investigate the threats that Reinehr began to suffer after the act.
The German Embassy issued a note saying that the gesture was an "attack against Brazilian democracy". The Israeli Embassy also issued a note saying that it was concerned about the action and asked the authorities to take the necessary measures. The State Public Ministry and the Prosecutor's Office of Santa Catarina launched an investigation into the case. However, it had already informed, in a preliminary investigation, that it does not see the practice of crime, and claimed that the gesture was only an "".
Consequences The blockades of roads and highways have affected various sectors of society, such as the meat and milk industries, partial paralysis of the meat industry, and the supply of supermarkets and gas stations. Several hospitals were also affected. There was general concern about the supply of oxygen and other supplies. Some hospitals had to cancel surgeries. The Butantan Institute informed that a load of eggs that will be used to produce vaccines against the flu is stuck in a blockade near Jundiaí, 47 km from São Paulo. If the cargo does not arrive at Butantan, which is located in the west zone of São Paulo, the production of 1.5 million doses of the immunizer against H3N2 may be compromised.