Court documents related to a recent police raid suggest that Bolsonaro personally edited a decree that would have overturned election results & imprisoned a Supreme Court justice; a general loyal to the president confirmed he would provide the troops needed to carry out the coup

In the end, however, the coup-mongers did not get their way—in part due to divisions within Brazil’s armed forces that were the target of concerted pro-democracy efforts by U.S. President Joe Biden.

Biden mounted, in 2022, a sustained pressure campaign aimed at Brazil’s military, making clear that a democratic rupture would leave Brazil isolated on the int'l stage—and lead to a downgrade of U.S.-Brazil security cooperation, which is highly valued by Brazil’s generals.

The campaign involved the U.S. White House, State Department, CIA, Senate, and—notably—the Pentagon. In retrospect, including that last agency may have been the Biden administration’s most decisive move.

US Secretary of Defense Austin became the chief public emissary to Brazil’s generals given the tense relationship between Biden and Bolsonaro, the latter of whom followed Trump’s lead in parroting falsehoods about supposed fraud during the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Biden also played a crucial role in helping Brazil’s electoral authorities overcome a global chip shortage to outfit electronic voting machines & ensure a smooth contest. Bolsonaro would have latched onto any technical difficulties as supposed evidence of machines’ unreliability