Leaders.com
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Wealth
  • Master Classes
  • Business
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Executives
    • Marketing and Sales
    • Social Media
    • Innovation
    • Women in Business
  • Leadership
    • Personal Growth
    • Company Culture
    • Public Speaking
    • Productivity
    • Hiring
    • Social Issues
    • Leaders
  • Wealth
    • Investing
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Retirement
    • Venture Capital
    • Loans and Borrowing
    • Taxes
    • Markets
    • Real Estate
  • Master Classes
  • Login
  • Subscribe
Social Issues Lula da Silva

Brazil's President Lula Da Silva is declaring riots are terrorists (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images)

By Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff

Tyler Hummel

Tyler Hummel

Tyler Hummel is a news writer for Leaders Media. He was the Fall 2021 College Fix Fellow and Health Care...

Full bio


Learn about our editorial policy

Jan 9, 2023

A Global Crisis Of Election Confidence 

Thousands of rioters attacked the capitol of Brazil on Sunday—reflecting a leadership and election crisis similar to the one the U.S. faced two years ago.

Key Details

  • Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro narrowly lost the October 2022 general election to the newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who took office on January 1. He has promised to reverse many of his predecessor’s decisions and push Brazil in a more progressive direction. 
  • Bolsonaro, a noted conservative leader widely compared to former President Donald Trump, has contested the election results in the months since, declaring that the election was rigged against him and even encouraging a military coup. 
  • Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked government buildings on Sunday—including the presidential palace, supreme court, and congress. The crowds were eventually dispersed, and over 1,200 rioters have already been arrested. 

Why It’s Important 

Brazil is facing a crisis of leadership and distrust similar to the U.S., with thousands of voters losing trust in election integrity and resorting to rioting as a means of pushing back. Many commentators are noting the similarity between Brazil’s January 8 riot to the U.S.’s January 6 Capitol Riot two years ago. 

President Lula da Silva has already faced backlash and pressure from Bolsonaro supporters for months, with many thousands of his reporters reportedly camping outside of army bases and pushing for the election to be overturned, Reuters reports. He has declared that the rioters are “terrorists” who will be brought to justice. Brazilian police have enhanced security in the meantime. 

Bolsonaro has not conceded the election but did condemn the violence, saying that “Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy. However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule.” He is currently living in exile in the U.S., staying in a home in Orlando, Florida, where he has stayed to avoid investigations in Brazil since December, The Hill reports.   

Partisan Reactions 

The Biden Administration is considering expelling him from the country pending an investigation of Sunday’s riots. Several U.S. representatives have called for his extradition, including Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who tweeted, “the U.S. must cease granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida.”

Conservative outlet The Spectator similarly condemned the riots while claiming that Bolsonaro supports have legitimate grievances against the new Lula De Silva government, noting the “socialist icon’s” history of corruption and allegations of “voter fraud.” 

“The international media will now set about arguing that the events in Brazil point to a rising wave of anti-democratic sentiment from right-wing extremists inspired by their boogeyman Donald Trump. These fears are not totally unfounded, yet they do not tell the whole story. In this increasingly polarized world, hardliners on the left and the right increasingly have little respect for democracy unless the result goes their way,” says The Spectator. 

Home / News / A Global Crisis Of Election Confidence 
Share
FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Related Stories

Regulators Struggle To Understand A.I. 

by Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff
Public Policy

16 hours ago

EU

The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) has meant that world governments are struggling to understand the implications of AI as a disruption tool and thus aren’t able to meet the needs of writing regulations for it. 

Key Details

  • The White House released a blueprint in October to address many of the core economic and legal concerns with new technologies, such as algorithmic racial bias, data harvesting, and automation. 
  • The European Union proposed its Artificial Intelligence Act in 2021, litigating uses for AI that it deems high-risk and low-risk, but it hasn’t passed. 
  • Both major proposals were written before ChatGPT was released on November 30, 2022, which sparked four months of rapid innovation and demand for AI applications. 
  • The Chinese government has similarly stated its intention to limit AI, announcing on February 24 that the Ministry of Science and Technology will be monitoring the safety and uses of the technology. 
  • Smaller agencies like the New York City Department of Education and various financial institutions have limited uses of chatbots in specific applications. Still, national-level solutions have been limited, Bloomberg notes.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

A Bailout Eclipsing That Of 2008 

by Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff
Markets

Mar 18, 2023

FR

The Federal Reserve has handed out hundreds of billions of dollars in the past week to avoid a banking crisis—one that President Joe Biden is eager to prevent from happening again. 

Key Details

  • According to the Federal Reserve’s Thursday report, the central bank lent $297 billion in emergency funds from Friday to Wednesday, in addition to $153 billion in lending against their collateral using “discount windows.” 
  • The spike in loans marked the highest number of requests the Fed has received in decades, eclipsing the 2008 financial crisis’s $111 billion discount window and the COVID pandemic’s $51 billion, Axios reports.    
  • In response to the ongoing turmoil, President Biden called for Congress on Friday to tighten banking regulations and impose penalties on banks “whose mismanagement contributed to their institutions failing.”

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Political Pressures On College Campus 

by Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff
Social Issues

Mar 17, 2023

A University of Wisconsin study finds that a large percentage of conservative students feel uncomfortable expressing their opinions on campus. 

Key Details

  • While the majority of students felt comfortable expressing their viewpoints, the 10,000-student study reveals that 30% feel uncomfortable sharing their opinions, and these students overlap with conservative opinions. 
  • 64% of conservative students stated they felt pressured by instructors to agree with specific political opinions discussed in class, as opposed to 15% of liberal students. 
  • 31% of all students agreed that offensive guest speakers should be disinvited from campus. 
  • When students were asked to what degree university administrators should ban harmful political points of view, 7.3% of conservative students agreed, and 40.2% of progressive students agreed.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn
Public Policy

Mar 17, 2023

Senators Tell IRS To Audit the Rich

by Hannah Bryan Leaders Staff
Entertainment

Mar 16, 2023

One Basketball Coach’s Lesson On CEO Longevity

by Hannah Bryan Leaders Staff
Credit Suisse
Markets

Mar 16, 2023

The Swiss Stop Credit Suisse’s Bleeding  

by Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff

Recent Articles

Productivity

Mar 17, 2023

Unlocking Your Inner Drive: How to Motivate Yourself

Make real progress by trying out these techniques for boosting your self-motivation.

Wealth

Mar 15, 2023

Secure Your Family’s Future With Generational Wealth

Find out how to set your family up for a bright future with generational wealth.

Business

Mar 13, 2023

Which of the 16 Work Personality Types Are You?

Work personality types refer to how individuals approach and engage with work tasks, coworkers, and their environments.

  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Wealth
Join the Leaders Community

Get exclusive tools and resources you need to grow as a leader and scale a purpose-driven business.

Subscribing indicates your consent to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Leaders.com
  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Careers
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Member Login

© 2023 Leaders.com - All rights reserved.

Search Leaders.com