How the September 7 demonstrations reverberated around the world

Pro-government protesters participate in an event on the Esplanade of Ministries.| Photo: Fabio Rodrigues-Pozzebom/Agência Brasil

The demonstrations in favor of Jair Bolsonaro’s government on Tuesday (7) had repercussions in the international press. The world’s main newspapers and news agencies highlighted phrases said by the president during the events on the Esplanada dos Ministérios, in Brasília, and on Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo, raising concerns about an institutional crisis in Brazil. The brief detention of a former advisor to former US President Donald Trump also gained space in international coverage, especially in the United States.

The Wall Street Journal highlighted that the demonstrations showed the strength of the right-wing leader before the 2022 presidential elections. The American newspaper also highlighted that the protesters called for the arrest of communists, the closing of Congress and that they criticized the Supreme Court (STF).

In reporting on the acts in favor of the government, Reuters highlighted the president’s criticisms of the Supreme Court and the electronic voting system, saying that Bolsonaro “has cast doubts on the integrity of next year’s elections”. The news agency also said that the presence of protesters was “much short” of what Planalto Palace had predicted, but said that the participation of tens of thousands of people “maybe was enough to encourage the president in his impasse with the judiciary and the Congress”.

The American newspaper Washington Post, with a progressive bias, highlighted that President Jair Bolsonaro increased attacks on the Supreme Court and threatened to “plunge the country into an institutional crisis” by saying that he will not comply with court orders from Minister Alexandre de Moraes and that for him there is only three options: “be arrested, killed or victorious.” The publication also noted that tens of thousands of supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro participated in Tuesday’s events, but later cited the number estimated by São Paulo state authorities for the act on Avenida Paulista was inferior to what the president expected.

Another progressive newspaper, The Guardian, reported that despite thousands of supporters on the streets, opinion polls indicate that Bolsonaro’s presidency “is going off the rails” and that his chance of re-election is slim. The British publication stressed that pro-government acts defended military intervention and preached violent acts against STF authorities and institutions. He also called the president’s rhetoric “chaotic and radical.”

In South America, Argentine newspapers La Nación, Clarín and Infobae highlighted Bolsonaro’s speech, bringing to the headlines the phrase in which the president says that “only God” will remove him from the presidency. Peruvian newspaper El Comercio, in turn, highlighted the president’s criticisms of the Brazilian electoral system.

The brief arrest of American Jason Miller at an airport in Brasília on Tuesday (7) also had repercussions in American media. Miller, a former advisor to Donald Trump and founder of the social network Gettr, was in Brazil to participate in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

According to Fox News and the Washington Post, he was briefly detained by the Federal Police for questioning as part of the investigation into undemocratic acts, on the orders of Moraes. CNN, the New York Post, Reuters and other media also reported the case.

Newspapers also reported that, contrary to what many were predicting, there was no violence during the pro-government demonstrations.