ECHOES OF THE 1970S
Brazil looks ripe for the far right’s next triumph.
Which leading politician from a sprawling, divided democracy fits this description?
He has been described as racist, sexist and a homophobe. He revels in his reputation as a leader of the far-right, expressing enthusiasm for generals and torturers. He laces his speeches with references to violence, once lamenting that a female colleague in Congress was “too ugly” to rape.
And he particularly loves to lash out at China, portraying it as a “predator” wanting to buy up the country. Who is this? If your answer is “Donald Trump,” you win this week’s “Apostle of the Obvious Award,” but — sadly — not first prize.
That goes to those who chose Jair Bolsonaro, a veteran right-wing politician and former army captain in Brazil who is expected on Sunday to win the presidency of Latin America’s larg- est and most powerful nation.
On so many levels, Brazil’s is a presidential election that has a lot at stake.
Not only is the likely winner a man regarded by many in Brazil as a “fascist,” it comes at a time when the country is deeply polarized, and the very future of its democracy appears threatened. It is the most bitter election in Brazil since the end of military dictatorship in 1985.
Also, as authoritarian and nationalist politicians gain in power and influence worldwide, this election is being closely watched throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.
Often compared to Trump for his populist and polarizing style, Bolsonaro, a Rio de Janeiro congressman, narrowly missed out on the outright majority needed for victory in the first round of voting Oct. 7. He won 46 per cent of the vote and, according to polls, he is a clear favourite to win the runoff vote on Sunday.
Bolsonaro espouses extremely conservative views about social issues — he has said he would prefer a dead son to a gay one — but he has primarily bene- fited from the popular rage in Brazil against the status quo and charges of rampant government corruption.
Trailing Bolsonaro in the polls is Fernando Haddad of the leftist Workers Party. He is a stand-in candidate for Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s stillpopular former president, who has been jailed since April on corruption charges and was declared ineligible to run.
Although Lula is still Brazil’s most charismatic politician, many voters have come to resent his party for the many corruption scandals during its time in power. In addition, the economy has collapsed, nearly 13 million people are now out of work and a crime wave has resulted in more than 60,000 homicides.
Like other populist politicians in other countries, Bolsonaro has been able to exploit a wave of frustration, anger and desperation expressed by voters against the traditional political order.
Brazil’s current political crisis is not unique in Latin America, and that is what makes this election so significant. In Venezuela and Nicaragua, democra- cy has imploded.
Elsewhere in Central America, except for Costa Rica, the societies are in crisis. And Donald Trump’s America — with its loathing of foreign aid — is now doing little to help reinforce the failing democracies.
Given Latin America’s modern history, it is in this kind of setting that the faint drumbeats of past military intervention can be heard.
I remember my first exposure to South America was in the 1970s — a year-long trip throughout the continent.
Virtually every country then was ruled by a military dictatorship, most notably the brutal regimes in Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
Those were awful years for many people in the region, but that is not what the likely next president of Brazil believes.
Jair Bolsonaro feels nostalgic about those days.
It is that kind of sentiment that will make Sunday’s election in Brazil so important.