NOVEMBER 08, 2022
COMMENTARY
A more disciplined demagogue would have succeeded in destroying Brazilian democracy
Last month, former army captain Jair Bolsonaro became the first president in Brazilian history to lose a reelection bid, falling to former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by 1.8 percentage points. The relatively small margin between the two candidates—the closest since Brazil become a democracy in the 1980s—is remarkable, considering Bolsonaro’s numerous governing and campaigning missteps. Yet if Bolsonaro had made a serious effort to attract more centrist voters during his final year as president, his defeat would have been far more unlikely—and other leaders with authoritarian ambitions are surely watching.
Bolsonaro, who for decades had been a far-right congressman known for his scandalous rhetoric and glorification of military rule, was elected in 2018 on an antiestablishment wave. He governed as a populist who stoked division and did little to hide his authoritarian ambitions: militarizing his government, putting pressure on the judiciary, and systematically seeking to undermine public trust in the country’s voting system.
Bolsonaro’s government was also shaped by his pandemic denialist stance—which increased the number of deaths by up to 400,000, experts say—and the appointment of numerous cabinet members who lacked knowledge…
