It’s 2022, the year we’ve all been waiting for to vote again for president of Brazil. It won’t be an easy task, although it never is, this time we have more things to consider, such as the pandemic and the fact that for the last three years we were commanded by a man who had no idea how to deal with this situation. Jair Bolsonaro, current President of Brazil, will have to run against the clock to make himself popular again if he wants to continue to govern this country. And, so far, he does.
But let’s not all jump to conclusions. In the year 2019, when Bolsonaro’s term of office began, it really was a difficult time to be in charge of a country — and it continues to be — especially if that same country is already struggling with a political and economic crisis. On top of that, a health crisis wouldn’t help anyone, but that’s what happened when Covid-19 hit.
However, the way that Bolsonaro dealt with Covid is not the only reason why Brazilian people seem to be refusing to vote for him again. Among all of the unprofessional things that he did during the pandemic, such as not wearing a mask or not vaccinating himself, he also did not so nice things during his office in general — like when he put a veto on the project that would give away free tampons for girls in public schools. Those actions were not great for his public image so he lost some of his base of supporters. In an attempt to get some of his popularity back, he created a welfare program hoping that it would reconnect him with the population.
“Auxílio Brasil” was created in 2021, after the pandemic exploded in Brazil and affected millions of citizens. Those people either lost their jobs, couldn’t go to work because of social distance, or, when they did go, they were exposed to the risks presented by the virus, which lead to a major impact on their incomes. The program’s main goal is to help families in extreme poverty so that they can leave the situation of social vulnerability that they live in.
It’s not a flawless project, nor some brilliant idea. This social benefit was first created in 2003 by Lula, former President of Brazil, under the name “Bolsa Família”. Basically, families below Brazilian’s poverty line were able to receive government aid and complement their income. The program continued to exist, passing through different presidential mandates, until Bolsonaro decided to shut it down. The decision came at a time when the pandemic hit and people’s struggle for money and survival became even tighter.
“He took a right that had already been assured to the population and capitalized it on emergencial terms. The problem with emergency decrees is that they have a date to expire and we know that programs like these have to be continued. There are other things that affect people’s lives, besides the pandemic”, says political scientist Jaqueline Hansen.
She also explains that, by modifying its name and increasing the value of the benefit, Bolsonaro can change the game on his behalf. “The new program is a substitute and it’s an attempt to capitalize this in his favor in electoral terms because every politician wants to deliver something. So he changes the name of Bolsa Família to Auxílio Brasil only to say ‘I did it’ — otherwise he could’ve just increased the value of the benefit and kept the title.”
He seems desperate to win people’s affection back. Desperate to the point of doing stuff that is not likely of his posture. When he improves Auxílio Brasil or when he eases himself while doing speeches, he reveals the inconsistency of his actions.
Jaqueline clarifies that it’s hard to tell for sure if all of this will work, but, even with the odds against him, he’s still trying. The main question is: Is it enough? “These attempts all happen for him to try to somehow reelect himself, but the scenario is very bad for him. It’s an attempt, and it can be successful. However, there are other things involved: his evaluation during the pandemic, the time when we had over four thousand of deaths per day, the vaccine’s delays. All of those are important factors on people’s voting decision”
Talking about politics, you can never know for sure what is going to happen. Maybe things will change again. With the support of his base, Bolsonaro can very easily go to a runoff with another candidate. But one thing’s for sure: he’s doing whatever he can to change this game, and he’ll continue to do so until the election day arrives.
The article above was written by Beatriz Cyrino and edited by Julia Bonin.
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