2 . President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a “ Make America Great Again ” campaign rally at Phoenix Goodyear Airport in Goodyear , Arizona | Gage Skidmore , CC BY-SA 2.0 , Wikimedia Commons
3 . Bolsonaro with US President Donald Trump in White House , Washington , 19 March 2019 | Isac Nóbrega , CC BY 2.0 , Wikimedia Commons
this year if it became successful ? Probably not , a difference with the Latin American past is that in the United States the armed forces and other powers did not support the coup . Neither did the majority of the American population . In this sense , a Trump dictatorship would have been a de facto regime devoid of legal cover .
In contrast , in Argentina in 1930 this theft of democracy was “ legalized ”.
The Argentine Supreme Court , days after Uriburu took office , officially recognized the de facto situation and legitimized the coup for extra-constitutional reasons : the stability and survival of the republic . Argentine judges prioritized social order and political security over democratic legitimacy , setting a legal precedent for future Argentine dictators and also for some cases of democratically presidents ( think of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador or Narendra Modi in India ) who regard the law is merely ornamental when it goes against their violence and repression . This is not what the Brazilian justices seem to think and this is why Bolsonaro attacks them .
When the courts are not enablers and facilitators democracy can be better defended . We saw this in the US with the failure of Trump ’ s dubious legal strategies regarding the certification of elections but still Trump has not faced justice for the insurrection .
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