The Pirate Party unreservedly condemns all violent attacks on democratic institutions. In particular, organised sieges [1] such as we have seen recently in Washington and Brasilia, undermine the ability of democratic institutions to maintain the smooth transition of power essential to the continuity of democratic governance.
The Pirate Party applauds the swift action of the judiciary to prevent both a coup and the concomitant violent escalation by those taking part in the armed uprising against the elected government [2].

We note the grave danger of violent actions such as those seen in Brasilia in January spreading globally, in the wake of the January 6, 2021 events in Washington DC, USA, and that the violence in Brasilia in January was fomented by actors also involved in fomenting the Washington riots [3].

The Pirate Party recognises the deep frustration of voters whose interests are not well represented by the major parties (In Brazil, the Liberal Party and the Workers Party). But we always encourage effective political organising and peaceful protest; never violence. In particular, the Pirate Party wishes to call out, in the wake of these fatal riots which threatened an elected government, the ongoing dangers of political manipulation in the current environment of media concentration and poorly regulated transnational social media conglomerates. Fascist imagery [6]; baseless but repeated claims of multiple voting and hacked voting machines; fake electoral maps; and localised narratives from QANON sources [4] all played a part in legitimising the violence unleashed after the election, and echo the narratives last year when “anti-vaccine mandate protesters, sovereign citizens and conspiracy theorists… gathered outside the governor-general’s official residence in Canberra.” [5].

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/08/world/americas/brazil-election-protests-bolsonaro.html
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/12/brazil-riot-asset-freeze/
[3] https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-nightly/2023/01/09/the-american-politics-of-brazils-insurrection-00077131
[4] https://gnet-research.org/2022/11/04/social-media-conspiracies-and-brazils-presidential-transition/
[5] https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7609920/protesters-surround-government-house/
[6] https://www.plenglish.com/news/2022/11/04/germany-condemns-use-of-nazi-salute-during-protests-in-brazil/