Former Army Captain and Right Wing Extremist To Become Brazil’s Next President
- Peace Action Canisius
- Nov 7, 2018
- 3 min read
Alex Holt
On Sunday evening, October 28th, Brazil held their general election to replace the outgoing President, Michel Temer who is leaving office with a record low approval rating of 2%. The office of the President was won by Jair Bolsonaro, a 63 year old, 7 term congressmen from Sao Paulo Brazil. He started his campaign with very few strong political allies with only those from his background in the military and few e-campaign funds but was able to get the support through two major ways. One was of the Social Liberty Party, which is a nationalistic and conservative political party that was founded in 1994. The other is his charisma, and the reason Bolsonaro has been considered by BBC news as the “Trump of the Tropics”. He lead people to believe he was a fit candidate by speaking directly to voters through angry all-capitalized tweets and facebook live videos. Last week he said he would jail or exile leftist opponents, and told a female congress women she was “not worth raping because she was “too ugly””. Voters in Brazil primarily support Bolsonaro because he is very vocal in his plans to get rid of corrupt politicians and crack down on crime - two issues that are hurting Brazil currently.
Many Brazilians want an increase in security because of a major crime problem due to the drug trade in Brazil. According to the Washington Post, Brazil had 63,880 homicides last year which is more than double the United States’ and European Union’s rates combined. Bolsonaro is also the politician that was stabbed last month during a campaign rally. The stabbing has thus increased his popularity among voters and he plans to combat violence and crime with a “zero-tolerance policy” where he will pour money and resources into the police force allowing them to use more lethal force while simultaneously lessening gun laws so that citizens can arm themselves against criminals. He essentially plans to give the police more power and less accountability. Brazil’s police force was responsible for more than 5,000 deaths last year which is making people wonder if Bolsonaro’s presidency could make lives worse for many of those of color.
Bolsonaro’s opponent, Fernando Haddad, was the mayor of Sao Paulo for one term before losing the reelection bid due to disapproval ratings. He has been anointed as a stand-in president of the Workers Party since Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva or Lula, for short, the widely popular president who served in Brazil from 2003-2011, is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for corruption charges. He’s also an education minister, and his suggested policies aimed to make Brazil more inclusive by narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor. Haddad received 44.9% of the vote while Bolsonaro won with 55.1%.
For those unfamiliar with Brazil’s structure of government, they have a presidential system very similar to the United States. The president, Jair Bolsonaro, will serve as both the head of state and head of government for a 4-year term and is limited to 2 consecutive terms. Their federal government, known as “Unaio”, is also similarly divided into the executive, legislative and judicial branch. What is significantly different about the United States’ and Brazil’s presidential systems is that Brazil has a multiparty system where no party can really gain power alone. There are 32 registered parties and around 40 parties awaiting legal status to become a recognized legitimate party.
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