President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva has fired Brazil’s army chief, General Arruda, because of the role he played during the storming of the capitol. He, along with many other military officers, were fired. President Lula accuses the former military members of colluding with the protesters who stormed the capitol building at the beginning of the month, according to the BBC.

January 8, supporters of Jair Bolsonaro–the former far-right president of Brazil–stormed Brazil’s capital in protest of his electoral defeat to President Lula. The protesters vandalized the presidential office building and invaded the presidential palace a week after President Lula was sworn into office. 

No lawmakers were present or in office during the time of the riots; however, several police officers were injured, and many buildings were looted. The protesters believed that the election was stolen; the protest resulted in about 1000 rioters being detained. 

To many, this incident echoes the January 6 storming of the US Capitol in response to former President Trump’s defeat in the 2020 Presidential Election. Similarly, protestors who claimed that election results were fraudulent vandalized and looted the capitol buildings, though the US Capitol was raided with lawmakers inside. The US protestors were seeking to keep Trump in power, overruling the electoral college and the majority of American voters. Almost exactly two years later, both incidents have resulted in damage to their respective countries’ democracies.