Pro-Bolsonaro Rallies May Be Prelude to Power Grab, Critics Say

RIO DE JANEIRO — Beleaguered by declining poll numbers, a sputtering economy and judicial investigations, President Jair Bolsonaro called on his supporters to rally across the country on Tuesday, Brazil's Independence Day, in a show of force critics fear could be a prelude to a power grab. In recent days, the president has cast this moment as a do-or-die turning point for his political movement. "I have three alternatives in the future: being arrested, getting killed or victory," Mr. Bolsonaro told supporters last week, referring to next year's presidential elections, which polls show he would lose in a landslide if the vote were held today. "You can be sure the first option, imprisonment, will not happen." Many in Brazil see in Mr. Bolsonaro's actions a parallel to President Donald J. Trump's in advance of the 2020 elections, and worry how Brazil, a country with weaker institutions, would weather a similar challenge to electoral institutions or an attack like the Jan. 6 riot in the U.S. capital. A group of more than 150 heads of state, ministers and lawmakers from 26 nations issued a statement on Monday expressing concern that the rallies in Brazil had the potential to turn into an… Read full this story

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