Biden draws parallels between Jan. 6, Brasilia riots in meeting with Brazilian president

President Joe Biden on Friday met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House and drew parallels between recent political turbulence in that nation's capital and the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro earlier this year stormed the Brazilian Congress, Supreme Federal Court, and presidential workplace to demand Lula's ouster from power in an incident that led to at least 1,500 arrests. 

Biden told Lula that "[b]oth of our democracies have been tested of late,"​​​​​​ ​adding that "democracy prevailed," The Hill reported.

Lula's 2022 election was Brazil's closest in recent memory. After serving as Brazil's president from 2003-2010, he became embroiled in a corruption scandal, was convicted in 2017, and barred from running in the 2018 presidential race that Bolsonaro won. The Supreme Federal Court later overturned his conviction, permitting his 2022 candidacy.

That decision attracted considerable scrutiny as a majority of the justices on the bench were either appointed by Lula or his political allies. Bolsonaro campaigned heavily on Lula's history with corruption in governance.

After narrowly losing the 2022 presidential race to Lula, Bolsonaro declined to contest the results. He departed for the United States prior to Lula's swearing in and was not present during the incident in Brasilia. His supporters were less conciliatory and pushed for Lula's ouster, deeming him hopelessly corrupt.

Though Bolsonaro condemned the actions of his supporters, Brazilian authorities have nonetheless indicated plans to investigate his alleged role in the affair. Brazil's Supreme Federal Court announced that it would address the matter, with officials suggesting that a video Bolsonaro posted two days after the incident questioning the election's legality was evidence that he incited the riot.

Bolsonaro's presence in the United States has been a sore spot for many Democrats who have drawn parallels between the political turmoil in Brasilia and Jan. 6, 2021, when a pro-Trump mob swarmed past police lines into the Capitol as Congress met to  certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. In late January, Democratic Sens. Richard Durbin (Ill.) and Maizie Hirono (Hi.) and Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders announced legislation to deny Bolsonaro a visa to permit his remaining in country.

"America must never become a safe haven for anyone who assaults the values for which our nation stands: democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and the sanctity of free and fair elections," said Durbin at the time. That effort followed unsuccessful Democratic pleas to the Biden administration demanding Bolsonaro's expulsion from the U.S.

Bolsonaro was hospitalized in the United States in early January over complications from an injury he sustained during a 2018 assassination attempt.

In the meeting with Biden, Lula offered some of his own thoughts on his presidential rival, saying he consumed "fake news morning, afternoon and night," The Hill noted.

"Sounds familiar," was Biden's reply, seemingly referencing former President Donald Trump.

Bolsonaro earned the nickname the "Trump of the Tropics" during the 2018 campaign cycle, largely due to his similar political positions.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.