The 2026 elections will take place in a context of high political pressure, intense circulation of false information, and growing threats to the very principle of national sovereignty, in a new and decisive test for Brazilian democracy. It is from this perspective that the three years since the coup attempts of January 8th should be understood: not only as the memory of a failed attempt at institutional rupture, but as a landmark that simultaneously illuminates the country's democratic progress and the risks that are being reconfigured in the present.
Brazil enters this new electoral cycle with significant institutional advancements. The response of the justice system to the coup attempts was historic, anchored in robust evidence, observance of the right to a fair hearing, due process, and the full guarantee of the right to a defense. Holding those involved accountable reaffirmed that Brazilian democracy has legitimate institutional mechanisms to protect itself.
This movement was reinforced by the consistent actions of various sectors of Brazilian society, such as the press, academia, and organized civil society, which played a central role in defending electoral justice and the constitutional order, as well as in rejecting authoritarian and extremist projects.
This accumulation, however, coexists with persistent challenges, such as the numerous attempts to grant amnesty to those convicted for the attempted coup d'état. Polarization remains a structuring element in public debate and tends to be strained by external pressures that extend beyond the domestic sphere, further amplifying the risks of political radicalization and systematic violation of human rights.
The intensification of more aggressive stances by foreign powers, especially the United States (USA) and its new national security policy for the Western Hemisphere, marked by explicit claims of influence and geopolitical control over Latin America, increases the risks to the self-determination of peoples, to national sovereignty, and may directly affect narratives of delegitimization of state institutions, the electoral process, and democratically elected authorities.
In this scenario, digital social media platforms and messaging applications continue to play a central role in shaping public debate. The absence of independent and effective public regulation maintains these spaces as environments conducive to radicalization and political extremism, the coordinated dissemination of hate speech and disinformation campaigns, as well as the systematic and unfounded questioning of election results, the democratic rule of law, and its institutions. The accelerated incorporation of generative artificial intelligence tools tends to worsen this situation, by enhancing the massive production of synthetic and manipulated content, deepening the asymmetry between the capabilities to attack democracy and the available institutional responses.
Given this scenario, the experience of January 8th imposes a clear task: to transform the institutional reaction into a permanent capacity for democratic defense, as well as into the projection of a horizon of stability, institutional confidence, and democratic strengthening.
The challenge of 2026 is not limited to holding formal elections and respecting universal suffrage, but to establishing a solid democratic and constitutional majority in Brazilian society, capable of supporting the rule of law both in containing any authoritarian threat and in strengthening the country's democratic mechanisms.
Defending democracy requires a continuous public commitment to national sovereignty, the integrity of information and the electoral process, the institutions, and the constitutional principles that structure democratic life in the country.
To celebrate January 8th as a milestone in the pursuit of truth, justice, and national memory, this day should be transformed into the inauguration date for elected officials, in a celebration of respect for the popular vote and the defense of democracy and national sovereignty.
Democracia em Xeque Institute
Brazil, January 08, 2026.
