Jair Bolsonaro and Threats to Democracy in Brazil

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In early August 2021, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil seemed to be rapidly losing support, putting him on track for a big loss in the next presidential election. He and his allies, therefore, turned to preemptive warnings about “fraud” to explain his impending defeat. In the process, they began overtly questioning the legitimacy of the electronic voting system in Brazil, a strategy clearly designed to mobilize the Bolsonarista bases after the presidential elections of 2022. At the same time, Bolsonaro ordered Brazil’s armed forces to hold a military parade, a move widely interpreted as an attempt to intimidate the national Congress before its vote to set aside the president’s plans to disrupt the country’s voting system. In response, Brazilian business and intellectual leaders warned of Bolsonaro’s “authoritarian adventures,” while the justice system took note of his attacks on the practice of democracy. Pundits and editorialists gamed out the implications.

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