On October 28th, Brazil elected far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro as their next president. Bolsonaro is a former army captain who served seven consecutive terms in Brazil’s Congress and ran as a member of the PSL party (not the Starbucks version, the Social Liberal Party). His campaign promises were to eliminate economic troubles, high crime rate and corruption, which convinced enough voters to help him win with 55.1% of the votes.
While Bolsonaro boasts a future of economic prosperity and less violence, his comments on the LGBTQ community, democracy and women are beyond alarming. Bolsonaro prides himself on his homophobia, openly explaining how he would rather have his son die in an accident or be an addict than be gay. While his most recent speech contains promises of a “constitutional and democratic” regime, Bolsonaro has called Brazil’s military dictatorship from the 60s to mid-80s “glorious.” And on the campaign trail, he made remarks about being able to justify military rule. In 2014, he made this comment about a congresswoman: “She’s not my type. I would never rape her. I’m not a rapist, but if I were, I wouldn’t rape her because she doesn’t deserve it.” However, almost as many women voted for Bolsonaro as women who voted against him. In a short video by the New York Times, a group of women describe how Bolsonaro’s presidency would make them feel safer because of his intense, strict policies against rapists and criminals.
Does this election remind you of anything? It’s no surprise that Bolsonaro has been nicknamed the “Trump of the Tropics.” In fact, Trump openly tweeted his support for Bolsonaro after a phone call with him: “We agreed that Brazil and the United States will work closely together on Trade, Military and everything else! Excellent call, wished him congrats!”
via: LA Times
Like Trump, Bolsonaro’s win has sparked major protest, such as the #ElNão (Not Him) movement. However, far-right, controversial leaders are continuing to rise. To a certain extent, it makes sense. These candidates are so outspoken and extreme on killing crime and corruption that it seems very likely that they will follow through; voters can rally behind that kind of strictness. However, these policies can come at horrific costs to the rights of minorities. Their racist, homophobic, and xenophobic comments are becoming more dismissible. Women somehow feel connected to a candidate who is openly sexist. So my question is where do we go from here? Will there be a new political movement that is aggressive on protecting social rights, or will we continue to move backwards?
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/world/americas/brazil-president-jair-bolsonaro-quotes.html
https://www.vox.com/2018/10/29/18037728/bolsonaro-brazil-election-guide
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46013408
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/world/americas/jair-bolsonaro-brazil-election-women.html