Worrying signs from Brazil

Brazil has a new President in Jair Bolsonaro, who won a divisive and violent contest at a time of economic upheaval amid a prolonged recession. It is yet another triumph for the far- right, as the “Donald Trump of the Tropics” is the spitting image of the US President’s personality, in his proclivity for misogyny and hatred for minorities, indigenous people and gays. The swing to the right in Austria, Poland, Hungary and the Philippines is a worrying enough sign not just for liberals but for a world that seems permanently on edge in a marked intra- country polarisation, with the arrival of radicalism. This pattern is all the more frightening as Mr Bolsanaro won on a campaign pointing to rising crime, corruption scandals going right to the top and the faltering economy.

Incendiary comments like calling for opponents to be shot may have stemmed from a stabbing attempt during the campaign that almost killed him. But the licentious manner in which far- right politicians are exploiting social vulnerabilities around the world in frenetic propaganda via the social media is evolving into a pattern that is frightening as none of this seems to stop with just election rhetoric. Provocative tweets and whimsical decision- making are not the only reasons to fear the rise of the far right, as their governance also leads to attacks on the press, human rights violations and a kind of laissez- faire in business, which in Brazil could harm the environment because of exploitation of the great natural resources of the Amazon rainforest.