[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 32 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 32
Condemning the violent insurrection in Brazil on January 8, 2023, and
expressing United States solidarity with the people of Brazil, as well
as support for safeguarding Brazil's democratic institutions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 2, 2023
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Durbin, Mr.
Cardin, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Van Hollen)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Condemning the violent insurrection in Brazil on January 8, 2023, and
expressing United States solidarity with the people of Brazil, as well
as support for safeguarding Brazil's democratic institutions.
Whereas Brazil is a strategic partner and major non-NATO ally of the United
States, and the bilateral relationship, which includes cooperation on
economic, environmental, defense, and human rights issues, is predicated
on a shared commitment to democratic values, including absolute respect
for free and fair elections;
Whereas the people of Brazil voted in the first and second round of general
elections on October 2, 2022, and October 30, 2022, respectively, which
were unanimously recognized as free and fair electoral processes by
independent electoral observers;
Whereas Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the second round presidential election on
October 30, 2022, receiving 50.9 percent of all votes cast by Brazilians
for the presidency and defeating incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro;
Whereas, in accordance with Brazil's constitution, President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva was sworn into office as the 39th President of Brazil on January
1, 2023;
Whereas, prior to Brazil's general elections, former president Jair Bolsonaro
repeatedly made false and unfounded accusations questioning the
transparency and integrity of the country's electoral processes,
publicly attacked the impartiality of Brazil's Supreme Court and Supreme
Electoral Tribunal, and encouraged his supporters to amplify these
baseless claims;
Whereas, on July 6, 2022, the then-head of Brazil's Supreme Electoral Tribunal
warned while in Washington, DC, that former president Jair Bolsonaro's
undemocratic rhetoric and baseless allegations of electoral fraud
exacerbated the risk of Brazil experiencing political unrest as or more
severe than the United States Capitol insurrection on January 6, 2021;
Whereas, in the aftermath of Brazil's general elections, former president Jair
Bolsonaro refused to formally concede to President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva and continued to share voter fraud conspiracies on social media;
Whereas, on January 8, 2023, one week after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
was inaugurated, supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro engaged
in a violent, organized siege of Brazil's presidential palace, Congress,
and Supreme Court and called for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to
be removed from office via military or other violent intervention if
necessary, marking the worst assault on Brazilian democracy since the
country's transition from a military dictatorship in the 1980s;
Whereas, similar to the violent siege against the United States Capitol on
January 6, 2021, Brazil's January 8, 2023, insurrection exposed the
resiliency and fragility of democracy and the harmful consequences of
public officials deliberately spreading electoral disinformation and
disregarding the rule of law;
Whereas the heads of Brazil's three branches of government issued a joint
statement condemning the ``terrorist acts'' on January 8, 2023, and
reaffirming support for Brazil's democracy;
Whereas President Joe Biden swiftly condemned the ``assault on democracy and on
the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil'', and committed to fully
supporting Brazil's democratic institutions; and
Whereas Brazilian authorities are currently pursuing investigations to ensure
all rioters, financiers, and public officials responsible for the events
on January 8, 2023, are held accountable, including by examining the
role of social media in organizing and amplifying the riots and opening
investigations into the actions of former senior officials, including
former president Jair Bolsonaro: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) expresses its ongoing solidarity with the people of
Brazil and unwavering support for Brazil's democratic
institutions in the aftermath of the January 8, 2023,
insurrection;
(2) condemns the violent siege conducted by former
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro's supporters against
Brazil's presidential palace, Congress, and Supreme Court that
was fueled, in part, by disinformation spread by former
president Jair Bolsonaro over several months;
(3) commends Brazil's electoral institutions for conducting
free, fair, and transparent elections on October 2, 2022, and
October 30, 2022;
(4) urges social media and group messaging companies to
take concrete steps to address the ways its platforms are used
to facilitate disinformation and misinformation in Brazil, and
to work with Brazilian authorities to address any role such
platforms had in facilitating and amplifying the violent events
on January 8, 2023;
(5) urges the President to expeditiously review all
requests from Brazilian authorities related to the
investigation into the January 8, 2023, insurrection, including
any future extradition requests for former senior Brazilian
officials;
(6) encourages the United States Senate and House of
Representatives to support any requests from the Brazilian
Congress related to its investigation of the violent siege that
occurred on January 8, 2023, including sharing best practices
from the investigation conducted by the United States House
Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the
United States Capitol;
(7) endorses President Biden's invitation of President da
Silva to Washington, District of Columbia, to continue United
States-Brazil collaboration on a wide-ranging shared agenda;
and
(8) reaffirms its commitment to strengthening the alliance
and strategic partnership between the United States and the
Government of Brazil on the defense of democracy and human
rights and other issues of shared priorities, including defense
cooperation, food security, environmental cooperation, and
inclusive and sustainable development.
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