We started this week not knowing who will be Brazil’s next president. But in part we already know who will rule: the far-right, known in the country as bolsonarismo.
The ultra-conservative bloc with elected senators, lawmakers, and state governors has achieved a substantial vote, demonstrating that neither the pandemic that killed 700,000 people, nor the returning famine, nor the social crisis, nor the miserable comments of President Jair Bolsonaro. discourage a segment of the population. Brazil revealed that, in addition to those elected, 50 million citizens said:
As in Hungary, once in power, the far right was nearly undefeated, simply repeating the traditional electoral logic. And the longer they stay in power, the more entrenched they become. Ask Viktor Orban.
As in Hungary, Bolsonar’s strategy is to illegitimate the press, civil society, activists and any form of external control. And instead, create supposedly direct channels with the population to spread the lies. No discussion, no questions.
The strategy worked in Brazil, too. Eduardo Pazuello was chosen after crossing his arms in the face of the pandemic. The country has chosen a former Human Rights Minister who has eliminated torture control mechanisms and many other tools to enhance dignity. A denialist former Environment Minister has been elected. And many who do not set limits on disinformation to achieve victory. Now, in some cases, they’ll be able to do the same with eight years of immunity.
This Sunday, I experienced the consequences of the lie firsthand. As the votes continued to be counted in Geneva, Bolsonar voters received warnings in their group that the president had won, and if that wasn’t the case, it was due to manipulations by investigators that the PT had infiltrated.
When the result was announced and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won, the only reaction from the Bolsonarist group at the front of the division was that the result was stolen and it was “unreasonable” to lose. The lie had won once again.
The consequences of disinformation are long-term, and we are discovering that. But to accuse the election of all the main figures of Bolsonarism with lying is to tell half-truths.
As in the US, millions of voters, mostly offended, do not identify with agendas that seem distant to them. Lula can still win, as Joe Biden did. But the impressive result of Bolsonarismo in the regional votes and in the Assembly reveals that capillarity is real.
As the Brazilian writer Juliana Monteiro said, the opposition can no longer read a letter for democracy only in the noble halls of the São Paulo elite school. As basic as it is, it is not and will not be enough.
In addition to all this, we have a legacy of an intolerant, racist society that does not see the state and is intrinsically individualistic.
With this scenario, Brazil comes to 2023 with a deep-rooted Bolsonarism. And the progressive forces are divided and unable to adequately engage with the electorate.
If Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wins in the second round, he will have to rule in the face of a possible international recession, a war, a nuclear threat and a climate collapse. But above all with a Legislative Power that will become the new bulwark of the far right in Brazil.
source: Noticias
