This resolution condemns the attack against Brazil's government institutions on January 8, 2023. The resolution opposes any attempt to overturn Brazil's 2022 election results and calls for the U.S. government to cooperate with requests for assistance from Brazilian authorities investigating the attack.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 106 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 106
Condemning the undemocratic attacks on Brazil's Government institutions
and supporting the free will of the Brazilian people as expressed in
Brazil's recent Presidential election.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 8, 2023
Mr. Cicilline (for himself, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Wild,
Ms. Titus, Mr. Allred, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Connolly,
Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Moskowitz, Mr. Grijalva, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Lee of California, Mr.
Cohen, and Mr. Garcia of Illinois) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the undemocratic attacks on Brazil's Government institutions
and supporting the free will of the Brazilian people as expressed in
Brazil's recent Presidential election.
Whereas, on October 30, 2022, Brazil's former President, Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva, won the majority of votes cast in a runoff election to become
Brazil's next President over incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro;
Whereas Bolsonaro's Liberal Party did well in the 2022 elections, winning 99
seats in the 513-member lower house, 13 of the 81 Senate seats, and 2
Governors' races, in addition to participating in coalitions that
elected at least 6 others;
Whereas Bolsonaro made his first public remarks 2 days later, thanking his
supporters and encouraging their protests, as long as they remained
peaceful, but failing to officially concede to Lula;
Whereas Bolsonaro's Liberal Party asked the electoral court to reject ballots
from voting machines deployed before 2020, claiming these models were
compromised, notwithstanding that these voting machines represent 61
percent of all voting machines and rejecting these ballots would likely
have flipped the election result;
Whereas Brazil's electoral court rejected the challenge against the Presidential
election result, stating that the complaint was made ``in bad faith''
and fined Bolsonaro's party 22.9m reais or $4,300,000;
Whereas the Brazilian Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court that
oversees elections have faced an unprecedented campaign of distrust and
public threats to judges largely due to years of Bolsonaro making false
claims about the election system including before, during, and after the
2022 electoral process;
Whereas, according to independent experts, Brazil's election officials, and
foreign governments, including the United States, there has been no
evidence of fraud in the electronic voting machines since Brazil began
using them in 1996, despite Bolsonaro's claims otherwise;
Whereas, in the days leading up to Brazil's Presidential elections, Facebook,
Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube directed many online users seeking basic
election-related information toward groups pushing claims that question
the integrity of the vote or openly agitating for a military coup;
Whereas there are multiple layers of security to prevent fraud errors, including
the testing of hundreds of machines on election day to ensure votes are
recorded correctly, having each polling station publicly post vote
counts to ensure they match up with the national tally, having outside
experts inspect some of the source code of the machines' software, and
ensuring machines are not connected to the internet, significantly
reducing the chances of a hack;
Whereas, despite this lack of evidence of election fraud, supporters of former
President Bolsonaro blocked roads across the country, scuffled with
police, and continued demonstrating outside of military barracks, urging
a military intervention in order to prevent Lula from taking office;
Whereas Bolsonaro arrived in Florida in late December, skipping the January 1,
2023, swearing-in of Lula, who became the first elected Brazilian
President not to receive the Presidential sash from his predecessor
since democracy was restored in 1985;
Whereas, on January 8, 2023, hundreds of supporters of former President
Bolsonaro stormed the National Congress of Brazil, the Palacio do
Planalto (presidential palace), and the Supreme Court in Brasilia,
Brazil, and many claimed they wanted the Brazilian military to restore
Bolsonaro to power and oust newly inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula
da Silva;
Whereas hundreds of protesters began to riot by using heavy metal objects to
force their way into the buildings, smashing windows, setting fires,
ransacking offices, destroying furniture and computers, scaling the
building, and waving flags and banners in support of Bolsonaro;
Whereas Brazilian authorities are reporting that at least 70 individuals were
injured, including police officers and members of the media, and more
than 650 people have been charged so far in connection to the riots;
Whereas ongoing investigations have indicated that actions by some members of
the military and police to encourage, support, and protect those
violently defacing democratic institutions highlight possible
cooperation between military and police officials and the rioters;
Whereas such treatment stands in stark contrast to reports by United Nations
human rights experts demonstrating a sharp increase in violence by
police of low-income, Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities in Brazil
over the last 4 years;
Whereas President Lula, congressional leaders, and the Supreme Court President
issued a statement saying that ``defenders of democracy'' in Brazil
``reject the acts of terrorism, vandalism, crime, and the attempted
coup'' and ``are united to take institutional action, according to
Brazilian law'';
Whereas Brazilian Supreme Court Justice, Alexandre de Moraes, is conducting
investigations into the riots and continues to analyze the security
failings that allowed Bolsonaro supporters to ransack government
buildings; and
Whereas President Joe Biden spoke to President Lula by phone on January 9, 2023,
and ``conveyed the unwavering support of the Untied States for Brazil's
democracy and for the free will of the Brazilian people as expressed in
Brazil's recent President election'' and also ``condemned the violence
and the attack on democratic institutions and on the peaceful transfer
of power'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the violent and unlawful attack on Brazil's
government institutions, including the National Congress of
Brazil, the Palacio do Planalto (presidential palace), and the
Supreme Court in Brasilia;
(2) opposes any attempt to overturn the free will of the
Brazilian people as expressed in the 2022 election results and
undemocratically remove newly inaugurated President Lula;
(3) stands with the people of Brazil as they recover from
this horrific incident and seek justice and accountability for
the attack;
(4) calls for the United States Government to cooperate
with requests for assistance received from Brazilian
authorities investigating the attack; and
(5) supports constructive dialogues between the United
States and Brazil to promote democracy, respect for rule of
law, human rights, civic participation, and racial and ethnic
equality in access to justice.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line