Brazil vs. US: Two insurrections, different results

TL;DR

Brazil jailed Bolsonaro for 27 years because its Supreme Court had broader criminal powers and wasn't captured by partisan loyalty the way America's was.

Key Points

• 1.Brazil's Supreme Court, led by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, launched investigations within hours of the January 8th, 2023 attack, issuing mass detentions and search warrants the very next day.
• 2.Federal police discovered assassination plans targeting President-elect Lula and his vice president, printed inside the presidential palace — concrete evidence that enabled criminal charges against Bolsonaro and co-conspirators.
• 3.Brazil's constitution, written after a military dictatorship (1964–1985), grants the Supreme Court power to try criminal cases involving high-ranking officials — a power America's court simply does not have.
• 4.Brazil's multi-party system (12+ parties in Congress) discourages rigid partisan loyalty, meaning justices grew less tied to the presidents who appointed them, unlike US justices who voted strictly along party lines on Trump's immunity case.
• 5.The US Supreme Court's 6 Republican-appointed justices voted to expand presidential immunity, dropping all charges against Trump, while Brazil's court moved in the opposite direction — constraining presidential power.