The 2022–2023 Brazilian election protests began shortly after the conclusion of the 2022 Brazilian general election's second round on October 30, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected president, which led to mass protests and roadblocks nationwide. Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, who are frequently referred to in media accounts as Bolsonaristas, alleging election fraud, began blocking roads and highways in the country. At least 23 Brazilian states, plus the Federal District, recorded roadblocks as of 1 November, adding up to at least 267 roadblocks according to data from Federal Highway Police (PRF).
The protesters have in common the rejection of the election result, allegation of frauds and call for a coup or a federal or military intervention to reassess the elections results and even to prevent the president inauguration, which affronts the Brazilian Constitution. These blockades have been widely criticized by entities, politicians, and authorities due to the fact that they have caused distruptions to the food supply, paralysis of the supply of products such as fuel and medicines, impediment of the citizen's right to transit, cancellation of flights, accidents, and deaths. They have also been called attacks against democracy, as they contest the electoral process and its legitimacy. The protests have since been characterized as domestic terrorism by part of the Brazilian media.
On 8 January 2023, pro-Bolsonaro demonstrators stormed the Praça dos Três Poderes, vandalizing the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate halls of the National Congress of Brazil in the process; protesters also invaded the Supreme Federal Court palace and the Palácio do Planalto in an attempt to overthrow the Federal Government. The insurrection failed and the Praça was cleared by law enforcement after a few hours; several thousand Bolsonaro supporters were arrested following the event.
Background
The protests were motivated by the false belief that the 2022 Brazilian general election suffered from widespread electoral fraud causing Jair Bolsonaro's loss. During his presidency, Bolsonaro fueled distrust in the electoral system of Brazil. This was further fueled by Bolsonaro supporters alleging fraud of the electronic voting machines malfunctioning and of voting patterns they deemed suspicious, and who mistrust election officials; the military helped oversee the election and found no signs of fraud. Another reason for the protests was dislike for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who had defeated Bolsonaro in the elections after his controversial convictions in Operation Car Wash had been annulled. Additionally, Bolsonaro did not recognize or accept his loss and pave the way for a peaceful transfer of power. Social media was used by supporters of Bolsonaro to spread misinformation about electoral fraud, motivating the protesters.
A video published on 16 October was one of several attempts by Marcos Koury, a member of the military reserve, to incite a general strike of truckers before the second round of elections. The idea was that drivers should paralyze Brazil to show support for Bolsonaro, who would have time to publish a provisional measure that would institute printed voting. Koury's video about the shutdowns was shared in several Bolsonaro groups on Telegram, and days later members of these same groups started advocating roadblocks after the elections. Calls for the shutdown were also made on TikTok and YouTube.
Timeline
Road and highway blockades
Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro, including truck drivers, started blockades across the country on the night of 30 October, when the election results were announced. Until the night of 31 October, the PRF (Federal Highway Police) had registered 321 points of blockages or agglomerations on roads in 25 states and the Federal District. The state with the highest number of blocks was Santa Catarina.
The Federal Highway Police announced on 9 November that all federal highways had been cleared of roadblocks and interdictions with a total of 1,087 demonstrations being broken up. Truckers again started blockading roads on 18 November. The Federal Highway Police later stated that the new blockades were different from the previous ones, noting that protesters adopted violent methods which occurred mostly at night.