Brazil’s ‘Jan. 6’ is a hit to democracy – but could it also bolster it?

The storming of Brazil’s state institutions by those unhappy with election results appears to mimic the Jan. 6 insurrection in the U.S. It is a wake-up call for Brazilian leadership about the perils of polarization.

Windows smashed, the halls of Congress destroyed, and hundreds of furious citizens storming the country’s capital to fight what they say was a stolen presidential election: This might seem a recap of the Jan. 6 insurrection in the United States. Instead, almost exactly two years later, Brazil witnessed an uncannily similar event over the weekend,...