Brazil’s Supreme Court Chief Edson Fachin said on Monday (Jan. 26) that democracy in Brazil and across the Americas is facing “challenging times.”

The justice’s statement was made during the inauguration of Rodrigo Mudrovitsch, a Brazilian judge, as president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica.

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Fachin cited the convictions of those involved in the January 8, 2023, coup attempts and stated that the three branches of the Brazilian government faced “dark forces” seeking a coup d’état.

“The democratic rule of law is going through challenging times. Later this month, we will mark three years since an episode occurred that tested the strength of our democratic institutions and constitutional justice,” Fachin noted.

The justice also said that the erosion of democratic institutions represents a new form of attempt to undermine democracy.

“Authoritarian movements that seek to supplant democracy do not always show themselves in their most strident and explicitly violent form. Today, we are witnessing a movement with a new guise, although equally harmful in its effects. Erosion of democracy corrodes institutions from within,” he added.