III
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 32
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 2, 2023
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
RESOLUTION
Condemning the violent insurrection in Brazil on January 8, 2023, and expressing United States solidarity with the people of Brazil, as well as support for safeguarding Brazil's democratic institutions.
Whereas Brazil is a strategic partner and major non-NATO ally of the United States, and the bilateral relationship, which includes cooperation on economic, environmental, defense, and human rights issues, is predicated on a shared commitment to democratic values, including absolute respect for free and fair elections;
Whereas the people of Brazil voted in the first and second round of general elections on October 2, 2022, and October 30, 2022, respectively, which were unanimously recognized as free and fair electoral processes by independent electoral observers;
Whereas Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the second round presidential election on October 30, 2022, receiving 50.9 percent of all votes cast by Brazilians for the presidency and defeating incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro;
Whereas, in accordance with Brazil’s constitution, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn into office as the 39th President of Brazil on January 1, 2023;
Whereas, prior to Brazil’s general elections, former president Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly made false and unfounded accusations questioning the transparency and integrity of the country’s electoral processes, publicly attacked the impartiality of Brazil’s Supreme Court and Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and encouraged his supporters to amplify these baseless claims;
Whereas, on July 6, 2022, the then-head of Brazil’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal warned while in Washington, DC, that former president Jair Bolsonaro’s undemocratic rhetoric and baseless allegations of electoral fraud exacerbated the risk of Brazil experiencing political unrest as or more severe than the United States Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021;
Whereas, in the aftermath of Brazil’s general elections, former president Jair Bolsonaro refused to formally concede to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and continued to share voter fraud conspiracies on social media;
Whereas, on January 8, 2023, one week after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was inaugurated, supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro engaged in a violent, organized siege of Brazil’s presidential palace, Congress, and Supreme Court and called for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to be removed from office via military or other violent intervention if necessary, marking the worst assault on Brazilian democracy since the country’s transition from a military dictatorship in the 1980s;
Whereas, similar to the violent siege against the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, Brazil’s January 8, 2023, insurrection exposed the resiliency and fragility of democracy and the harmful consequences of public officials deliberately spreading electoral disinformation and disregarding the rule of law;
Whereas the heads of Brazil’s three branches of government issued a joint statement condemning the terrorist acts
on January 8, 2023, and reaffirming support for Brazil’s democracy;
Whereas President Joe Biden swiftly condemned the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil
, and committed to fully supporting Brazil’s democratic institutions; and
Whereas Brazilian authorities are currently pursuing investigations to ensure all rioters, financiers, and public officials responsible for the events on January 8, 2023, are held accountable, including by examining the role of social media in organizing and amplifying the riots and opening investigations into the actions of former senior officials, including former president Jair Bolsonaro: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate—
expresses its ongoing solidarity with the people of Brazil and unwavering support for Brazil’s democratic institutions in the aftermath of the January 8, 2023, insurrection;
condemns the violent siege conducted by former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters against Brazil’s presidential palace, Congress, and Supreme Court that was fueled, in part, by disinformation spread by former president Jair Bolsonaro over several months;
commends Brazil’s electoral institutions for conducting free, fair, and transparent elections on October 2, 2022, and October 30, 2022;
urges social media and group messaging companies to take concrete steps to address the ways its platforms are used to facilitate disinformation and misinformation in Brazil, and to work with Brazilian authorities to address any role such platforms had in facilitating and amplifying the violent events on January 8, 2023;
urges the President to expeditiously review all requests from Brazilian authorities related to the investigation into the January 8, 2023, insurrection, including any future extradition requests for former senior Brazilian officials;
encourages the United States Senate and House of Representatives to support any requests from the Brazilian Congress related to its investigation of the violent siege that occurred on January 8, 2023, including sharing best practices from the investigation conducted by the United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol;
endorses President Biden's invitation of President da Silva to Washington, District of Columbia, to continue United States-Brazil collaboration on a wide-ranging shared agenda; and
reaffirms its commitment to strengthening the alliance and strategic partnership between the United States and the Government of Brazil on the defense of democracy and human rights and other issues of shared priorities, including defense cooperation, food security, environmental cooperation, and inclusive and sustainable development.
