* Raphael Tsavkko Garcia
In the United States, the polls continue to be counted and Republicans are likely to gain majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, but despite this, there’s no doubt that the climate is a defeat. At least the dominant force in the party, the trump card, was defeated in the election.
Clear signals are coming from Republican leaders and even sections of the conservative media that sympathize with the extremist ex-president until recently: Trumpism is on the wane. Its radical, undemocratic, fanatized rhetoric, often detached from reality and very similar to Bolsonarism, is showing signs that it is no longer able to produce the same engagement as it did in the past.
Republicans – and many analysts – envisioned a “red wave” with the party winning vast majority in both houses. Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake campaigned on the grounds that if she lost it would be fraudulent. Lake loses the election by one point at this point.
Any resemblance to Bolsonarista rhetoric is no mere coincidence. Bolsonaro was named after Trump. The former US president is also experiencing a decline after Bolsonaro. The link between the two is clear because both are clearly part of a global far-right movement that is growing in Europe but declining in America. Speeches and methods are similar, and in the case of these two leaders, their destinies seem to be tied together.
In the end, both failed to win re-election – something rare in the United States, unheard of in Brazil – they have followers on a level of mind-defying fanaticism, perpetuating speeches denying the result of the polls and speeches. He urged his supporters to take action. Streets.
I began to think that once Bolsonaro was in opposition, he and Centrão could lay a solid foundation that could make Lula’s life difficult. I believe I was wrong. Centrão quickly jumped into the lap of the prospective owner of the safe’s key, and even Evangelical fundamentalist leaders are ready to negotiate with “the devil” because he has the key for the same reasons as Centrão. And apparently, Jesus is really a drop of money.
It is a fact that the Brazilian far right will grow in the next legislature. At least at first glance, it will be seen how many people will be interested in money and closeness to power rather than ideologically. The fact is that the “red wave” failed in the United States – according to President Joe Biden, “we lost fewer seats in the House of Representatives than in the first democratic elections in at least 40 years.”
Bolsonaro managed to build a substantial base in parliament, but could lose much of it by January. Republicans, on the other hand, may win a majority in both houses, but the results will be (very) shorter than expected. In both cases, we can say that Trump and Bolsonaro lost in victory.
The manageability of both Lula and Biden won’t be easy – one as he will likely have to rule in a minority, the other because he will have to deal with the worst scum of Brazilian politics – but they will both survive with democracy.
Trumpism and Bolsonarism will live on. They will have power, but they can see it gradually dwindling, mainly due to fatigue from traditional conservative leaders, on the one hand, due to the disappearance of power and the key to the safe, and mainly because of fatigue. the message they’re selling, your stupid radicalism, your relentlessly preaching hatred. They will have space, niches, but not nearly as much power as before.
Of course, this will also depend on the extent to which Lula and Biden succeed in rebuilding their economies and engaging with different strata of the population, and their most fanatical supporters. Its supremacist rhetoric reinforces the rhetoric of the far right, poses a danger to the left with its cancellations and silencing, and throws thousands, if not millions, of voters into the lap of the other party.
2023 will be an interesting year in Brazilian and United States politics. The far right suffered losses, but it is now clear that the damage has been done. QAnon, all kinds of conspiracies, fascist groups in the streets, fake news on social media and people living in parallel realities are permanent factors here. And there is little care, because any mistake made in the democratic field can be very costly.
* Raphael Tsavkko Garcia He is a journalist and human rights doctor from the University of Deusto. Contributed to tools such as Foreign Policy, Undark, The Washington Post, Deutsche Welle.
source: Noticias
