Brazil tests the right
Is Jair Bolsonaro a tough talker or an autocrat?
The election in Brazil of a hardright-wing conservative is concerning, even though the new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has vowed to defend constitutional rights and personal liberty.
With Brazil roiling from violence and government corruption, the former army captain who toiled for more than two decades in the legislature has emerged to the voters of Brazil as a someone who will introduce order and stability.
Mr.Bolsonaro defeated the Workers’ Party nominee, Fernando Haddad, whose partyruled during more than a decade of corruption, an investigation of which revealed a multibillion-dollar scheme involving bribes and kickbacks.
Brazil also has seen a spiraling of violent crime. Last year, the country had more than three times as many murders as the United States, with only two-thirds of the population.
It’s no wonder people yearned for structure and order. But what kind of structure and order will Mr. Bolsonaro bring?
He has spoken approvingly of Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship. He has made statements derogatory to women and minorities.
Heplans to let the police be more violent with criminals, plans to use the army in fighting crime and plans to have more military in his cabinet. An administration under such a president might be prone to want to use the military to enforce a political agenda.
Mr. Bolsonaro’s election, with his promises to sell off state-owned companies and embrace global trade, while also cracking down on criminal gangs and government corruption, have already spawned a flurry of economic-interest in Brazil.
He can become a hero of political and national growth or he can avoid becoming a caricaturish, intolerant, tin-pot dictator. Some have compared Mr. Bolsonaro to Donald Trump, a system-shocker who will straighten out Brazil’s political dysfunction. Others believe Mr. Bolsonaro has the makings of a murderous autocrat like Augusto Pinochet. (In fact, Mr. Bolsonaro has welcomed comparisons to the infamous Chilean dictator.)
Mr. Bolsonaro has promised to be a president who respects the constitution and personal liberty. Time will tell. As with other tough-talking, strongman-type presidents around the world, loyal oppositions must fight to preserve hard-won gains for social and civil equality.