Self-serving politics

Crowds on Sunday fanned out across Brazil’s 27 state capitals to denounce two measures moving through Congress: a constitutional amendment proposal that would essentially shield lawmakers from prosecution, and a bill that could forgive or soften penalties for those convicted of a coup attempt masterminded by former President Jair Bolsonaro and his acolytes.

The demonstrations, initially organized in a spontaneous, online fashion and later embraced by left-of-center parties, were notable not only for their scale but also for how they reframed Brazil’s political symbolism and fault lines.

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