Hunger for freedom as a power reservoir for democracies
The attack on Brazil’s Congress and Supreme Court by pro-Bolsonaro vote-resisters is a disturbing reminder of the January 6 storming of the US Capitol two years ago. Whether the Brazilians were simply inspired by their American counterparts, or whether there is an international network of autocracy sympathizers actively working to undermine democracies, urgently needs further investigation.
Michael Chertoff is Co-Chair of the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity and former US Secretary of Homeland Security.
But it’s not all gloomy news when it comes to democracy around the world. In recent months, thousands have taken to the streets in China and Iran to protest repression. And the Ukrainian people are also showing extraordinary courage in defending their freedom against Russian aggression. These examples should remind us that there is an enormous public thirst for freedom. This hunger for freedom is a reservoir of strength against all those who seek to undermine democracy.
The supporters of democracy must therefore do everything possible to promote broad popular participation in the democratic process and to clarify the great importance of the rule of law. This is where both the media and social platforms can play an important role in exposing extremists’ covert efforts to undermine democracy and justice.
Hatred, disinformation, terrorism: not isolated phenomena
It is no coincidence that both the storming of the US Capitol and the incursion into the Brazilian parliament took place in early January. In both cases, the trail leads to anti-democratic arsonists. Bolsonaro was always more than a fanboy of Donald Trump, whose advisor Steve Bannon publicly recommended not to underestimate the global destabilization potential of Latin America’s largest democracy.
Huberta von Voss is Director of the Think Tanks Institute for Strategic Dialogue in Germany.
Events show us that in the internet age we can only win the fight for freedom, the rule of law and human rights and the resulting stability together. Above all, we must stop looking down on the rest of the world as the “Global South”.
We need a robust dialogue at eye level between democracies on how to reclaim the Internet as a forum for productive discourse. At the same time, we need sustainable solutions that do justice to the hybrid nature of online radicalization. Hate speech, disinformation, conspiracy ideologies, extremism and terrorism must finally be fought together – not as individual phenomena.
Material interests of the enemies of democracy
Democracies are threatened. But by whom? Images of the parallel uprisings in Brazil and the US suggest one culprit: a vanguard of far-right fanatics brandishing guns and Bibles while looting institutions. But this explanation, which relies heavily on values, beliefs and culture, ignores the material interests behind it.
David Adler is an economist and Secretary General of Progressive International.
Cui bono? In Brazil, the answer is clear. Democracy has enabled the poorest sections of society to demand policies such as agricultural reforms and minimum wages – an existential threat to the country’s extractive industry business models. These business interests thrive on chaos: in an ungovernable country, the positive-sum promise of a democratic society degenerates into a zero-sum calculus of all against all: either I exploit you or you exploit me. Not surprisingly, then, President Lula identified the agricultural industry as the main source of funding for the Brasilian uprising.
To face the threat to democracy – in Brazil and around the world – it is not enough to imprison the insurgents. It is necessary to act against the entrenched interests that are benefiting from the chaos and will continue to attack their country’s democratic institutions as long as they are allowed to.
