In early September 2018, I wrote a blog post about Jair Bolsonaro, at that moment the frontrunner in the Brazilian presidential election, defending that he could be considered a populist radical right politician. He was elected and has been in power since January 1. In this post, I discuss the adaptation of Bolsonaro’s radical appeal… Continue reading “Bolsonaro’s first days of government: a threat to liberal democracy”
Fascism isn’t new to Latin America, and neither is the radical right. Jair Bolsonaro, a former military officer, is the newly elected President of Brazil and one of the most right-wing politicians in power in Latin America in decades. He thus joins the radical right-wing surge of politicians around the globe from Presidents Orbán (Hungary)… Continue reading “Brazil’s Bolsonaro Is The Latest Incarnation Of The Radical Right In Latin America”
Newly elected Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s narrative is one that lends itself to creating what historians of dictatorship have called a ‘cult of personality’. One of his supporters recently told The Nation, reiterating claims now surrounding Bolsonaro: ‘He is the messiah! He was knifed, but rather than stay at home or lie on the beach,… Continue reading “Is He a Fascist? The Election of Jair Bolsonaro”
In October Brazilians will vote for president in particularly troubled election. It is the first ballot after Dilma Rousseff’s controversy impeachment, which put into power the unpopular interim Michel Temer. Besides, Lula, the first candidate in the polls, is in prison and was barred from running the election. Finally, it is the first time that… Continue reading “Bolsonaro: Radical Right-Wing Populism reaches Brazil”