In one of the most contentious elections in recent Brazilian history, the current far-right President, Jair Bolsonaro, was defeated by his rival Lula da Silva. Leading up to the election, there were growing fears that President Bolsonaro would refuse to accept the results of the election if he lost, and could’ve used his considerable influence in Brazil’s military to enact a coup to maintain power. However, those fears have not come to fruition, and it appears that Bolsonaro will instead look to retake power in the next presidential election, which takes place in 2026. In the meantime, his party, the Liberal Party or PL, plans to take advantage of its majority in the Brazilian Congress to conserve as much of Bolsonaro’s enacted changes and programs as possible, and pave the way for his return to the presidency in 2026.
Fears of what could’ve happened in the wake of this election have been heavily influenced by the events in the United States after our recent election. Donald Trump repeatedly called into question the legitimacy of the election leading up to and after election day, and his party, the Republicans, made widespread moves to challenge the results of the election. This ultimately culminated in the events of January 6th, when tens of thousands of protesters stormed the United States capital in order to stop the election results from being certified. However, due to Bolsonaro’s close ties to the Brazilian military, fears were even greater for the Brazilian election, as the outcomes of a military intervention or coup would likely be far greater than the outcomes of what happened in the US. Latin America has seemingly dodged a lethal bullet in this situation, as Brazil’s influence in the region is practically unrivaled. The election results also solidified the strength of one of the world’s largest democracies, in a time that has been marred by failing democracies and governments, corruption and a rise in authoritarian regimes.
Link to Article: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/bolsonaros-party-will-vote-waiver-cover-welfare-costs-if-is-public-interest-2022-11-08/