January 8th: Democracy attacked, democracy victorious.

January 8, 2023, was not an isolated incident or excess. It was a deliberate attempt at democratic rupture, built up over months. On that Sunday, Brazilian democracy was cowardly, violently, and systematically attacked by groups that refused to accept the election results and decided to replace democratic voting with authoritarianism, politics with barbarism, and the Constitution with arbitrary power.

There was no naiveté, improvisation, or spontaneity. There was planning, financing, political encouragement, and collusion. The attack on the headquarters of the Three Branches of Government had the explicit objective of nullifying the popular will expressed at the ballot box, constraining the institutions, and creating an environment of chaos that would pave the way for a coup d'état. It was a frontal assault on the Democratic Rule of Law.

Those who attempt to rewrite the facts, downplay the crimes, or frame January 8th as a mere "demonstration" are doing a disservice to historical truth and democracy. What occurred in Brasília was political terrorism. It was the conscious denial of the constitutional order. It was the culmination of a coup-mongering escalation fueled by years of disinformation, systematic attacks on institutions, and the incitement of hatred against politics and against the democratic regime itself.

The response from democracy, however, was stronger. The institutions reacted. The Supreme Federal Court fulfilled its constitutional role. The National Congress positioned itself in defense of legality. The democratically elected government acted to restore order and ensure the functioning of the State. Brazilian society, in its vast majority, rejected the authoritarian adventure.

This reaction was decisive. It showed that Brazilian democracy is not fragile, but neither is it automatic. It needs to be defended, protected, and strengthened every day. It needs laws, institutions, memory, and, above all, accountability.

Therefore, any debate about amnesty is unacceptable. There is no possible democracy without consequences for those who try to destroy it. Granting amnesty to coup plotters is to legitimize political crime, to signal tolerance for institutional breakdown, and to invite new authoritarian attacks. Countries that have downplayed attacks on democracy have paid dearly for it. Brazil cannot repeat this mistake.

Holding people accountable is not revenge. It is a commitment to the future. It is ensuring that the Constitution is not merely decorative, but a living pact. It is affirming that popular sovereignty is non-negotiable and that the vote cannot be replaced by violence.

Three years later, Brazil continues to rebuild public policies, re-establish bridges with the international community, and reaffirm democratic values ​​that had been eroded. This reconstruction is only possible because the coup failed. It failed because democracy resisted.

January 8th must remain a landmark and a warning. A landmark of the attempted break with the status quo. A permanent warning that authoritarianism doesn't disappear, it only changes form. It is up to us, elected representatives and citizens, to ensure that it never finds a place again.

Democracy was attacked, but it prevailed. And it will continue to prevail, as long as it is defended with firmness and true patriotism.

Long live democracy. No amnesty.