Democracy or autocracy?
BIDEN: The world is at a turning point
15/01/2023, 7:38 PM
Violent attacks on government institutions in Brazil give US President Biden a reason to once again demand the protection of democracy. He warns that the world is at a turning point. Humanity will have to decide what it wants.
US President Joe Biden has warned again of threats to democracy. “Nothing is guaranteed in our democracy,” Biden said in a speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. He warned of the need to protect democracy, referring among other things to the recent violent attack on government institutions in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia.
Biden with Pastor and US Senator Raphael Warnock (left) at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
(photo: AP)
A few days ago, supporters of the right-wing ex-head of state Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Congress, the seat of government and the Supreme Court in BrasÃlia. The attack is reminiscent of the attack by US President Donald Trump’s supporters on the House of Representatives in Washington two years ago. Trump supporters revolted over Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
Biden warned that the world stands at a turning point that will determine the course for decades to come. People will have to choose between democracy and authoritarianism. The reason for Biden’s speech was the birthday of human rights activist Martin Luther King (1929-1968) – he had preached at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
This Monday is a public holiday in the United States in honor of Martin Luther King. Biden has said that Martin Luther King is one of his heroes and has always been an inspiration to him. He is honored to be the first sitting US president to speak at Sunday Mass. The parish has existed for 136 years. “Not me, even if I look like that – I know,” the 80-year-old jokingly added.
