Brazil – Lessons and Observations

On Sunday night, the Brazilian run-off election got underway. Bolsonaro supporters were thrilled because Bolsonaro maintained a commanding lead all day. While it wasn’t a rout, he had it in the bag.

Something happened in those last few hours though. Lula made a surprising comeback in just one region. Although Bolsonaro won 6 of the 7 major regions, Lula’s lead in the single region was enough to push him over the top. Does this sound familiar? Oh, wait, this is from CNN, the “most trusted name in news”:

“According to the election authority’s final tally, Lula da Silva received the most votes in Brazilian history – more than 60 million votes“

CNN, 11/01/2022

What a miracle. But, when we pull back the curtain, we see that the CIA Director and the Secretary of Defense of the United States met with Lula in May of 2022. Among the very first world leaders to congratulate Lula was none other than Ice Cream Joe (well, his interns anyway).

Immediately after the election, where Lula had campaigned on releasing people from prison and reducing criminal penalties, despite a crime wave of epic proportions, Lula supporters took to the streets to celebrate. This is where our first lesson comes into play. These Lula supporters rushed out and begin beating, and in several cases, killing outright, anyone wearing a Bolsonaro shirt. They called them “Bolsonaristas”, which sounds suspiciously like “Trumpers”. They looted perceived Bolsonaro-supporting businesses and set fires.

The lesson is that this is where the rhetoric of “the other side is fascist” leads. It makes the opposition less than human and therefore encourages violence against them. I assure you, leftists here were watching this with anticipation. My advice is that when a rampaging crowd rushes out looking for victims, adopt a gray man attitude….lose the political shirts and righteous attitude. Yes, we all want to win and stand our ground, but if a mob of 200 overruns you and kills you, we lose in the long run. According to the Ultimate Tactical Handbook, a wise man chooses his battles:

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Proverbs 21:23

This isn’t giving up; it’s picking winnable battles. For example, while the cities had rampages, the Bolsonaristas were busy organizing a truck blockade of the cities from the rural areas. As the time of this writing, there are 321 blockades in 26 different states, including blocking the road to Rio de Janeiro airport. These have remained peaceful, but the people are prepared to defend the roadblocks. On a side note, you can learn how to effectively run a roadblock in TW-03, Defensive Operations. The Tactical Wisdom for being ready to defend is found here:

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Romans 12:18

Romans 12:18 is an often misunderstood and mis-quoted piece of Scripture. Many believe that this means that Christians must be peace-loving and non-violent AT ALL TIMES. On the contrary, it says to TRY to be peaceful, “as far as it depends on you” – in other words, don’t be the offensive party. Note the first four words, “If it is possible” – this implies that at times it is impossible, and you are NOT to just be peaceful then. I remind you of the Old Testament, “God is man of war”. As another reminder, when someone says “What Would Jesus Do”, using home-made weapons to drive out the enemy is not outside the realm of possibility. I also will point out that the Church began as a Resistance movement, meeting in secret and organizing while they were being hunted.

Back to Brazil, as the truckers and other groups are organizing, they are using cell-phone messaging apps to do that. The Supreme Court of Brazil, who did everything they could ensure that Lula won and that Bolsonaro was restricted, has announced that they may ban those apps in the country (the Canada plan). The lesson for us is the one we SHOULD have learned when the Feds used those same messaging apps to roll up anyone who was anywhere near Washington DC on January 6th – stop using apps to organize.

I know, some apps, like Wire, are very secure, but if the government just shuts it down, as they can do in an “emergency”, you have nothing. Radio, radio, radio. I keep telling you all that you need radio. Make sure yoru team has at least one Ham operator (non-SAD HAM Type) and that EVERYONE has a radio on unlicensed channels at a minimum.

While they can jam radios, it’s hard to do for long periods of time and all you have to do to defeat it is to be frequency-agile. They jam FRS? Switch to MURS. They jam MURS? Switch to CB, then back to FRS. In fact, your SOI (Signals operating instructions) should call for switching bands and frequencies on a regular basis anyway. NC Scout teaches classes on developing an SOI that I HIGHLY recommend. I learned a lot from him.

Since this protest is organized by truckers, I recommend that they use CB radio. You can “hide” your messaging by discussing delivering loads to various locations and the equipment is readily available. CB is used so much in commerce that jamming it would have negative economic effects.

As far as jamming, NC Scout and other like-minded Ham operators across the US, Mexico, and Canada supported the Cuban protestors last year when the Cuban government tried to jam amateur radio to stop organizing. While they were effective at stopping local voice and digital traffic, Ham operators in the US received and then relayed back into Cuba long-range digital traffic that was making it through the jamming. This allowed the protests to continue and organizers to talk via relays outside the jammed area.

Right now, develop plans with your group or loved ones on how to deal with the two biggest observations here:

1. People violently acting out their political hatred physically.
2. The government limiting your ability to organize online to resist.

The first one is easy, remain aware and monitor your local situation. Keep track of your people. Have a way to meet up for mutual defense and protection. Be less invested in “being right” and more invested in “picking the right battles”. Arguing and antagonizing isn’t going to change their minds but being ready to violently resist their attacks is. It may give them pause and cause them to step back from the brink. When we do step into the streets, it MUST BE as a mass, not as a collection of individuals to be picked off by the mob or the authorities.

The second one is a bit more nuanced, yet also easy. At the very least, everyone you know should have a handheld radio capable of license-free local security communications for a strongpoint you can defend as a group. At the other end, you could have an entire team of dedicated Ham radio operators who coordinate groups, conduct radio reconnaissance, and CAN (relax FCC, we’re talking Minecraft) conduct offensive electronic warfare. Consider one dedicated videographer as well to “get the story out”.

Friends, Brazil is giving us a free preview of what is to come. I know, many of you will say “that can’t happen here”, but it CAN. Brazil is NOT some backwater Third World Nation. Brazil is the 5th largest nation in the world, with a population of 217 million. It’s a member of the G20 and is considered upper-middle income by the World Bank. It has the 12th largest GDP in the world. When I mention these facts, people like to say “but the favelas”…I challenge that the favelas are no different than the projects in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, or Detroit.

It CAN happen here and it is already starting here.

Pay attention, plan, and be ready.

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