[ad_1]
RIO DE JANEIRO – In newsstands across Brazil, the cover of presidential party leader Jair Bolsonaro – wearing a military beret and presidential belt – cleverly captured the national mood here a few days before the second round of the presidential election. October 28th:? "Asked the weekly Veja.
If the latest polls indicate, the answer is a resounding "yes": a week before the vote on Sunday, the maverick, politically incorrect populist and extreme right, led his opponent, Fernando Haddad of the Left Workers Party (PT). , by a stunning 18 percentage points.
Supporters and opponents now understand that Mr. Bolsonaro – a 63-year-old former army captain, widely regarded as a marginal politician during his seven congressional terms – will likely soon be leading most of the South America. populous nation, riding a wave of popular disgust at corruption, crime and a ruling class widely perceived as out of touch.
With little passion, Haddad's camp spent most of last week denouncing an alleged campaign of misinformation on social media, while his comfortable lead triggered Mr. Bolsonaro's decision not to keep a televised final debate.
"The trend is clearly Bolsonaro; it seems irreversible, "said Valter Duarte, a political scientist at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. "And it's not so strange because he managed to win a part of the society that felt some kind of resentment, especially with regard to years of PT government."
On October 7, Mr. Bolsonaro won 46% of the vote, which was a breathtaking result. His vote was total, a little less than the absolute majority required to avoid a second round. Haddad finished second with 29 percent, and analysts say it's unlikely Bolsonaro's rivals will deny him the extra few votes he needs to put him above the list.
For the first time in memory, Duarte said, Brazilians did not vote so much for a candidate and his ideas as for an alternative. Although many reject Bolsonaro's often incendiary rhetoric, more and more people now see the Workers Party – and his main rivals in the establishment – as totally corrupt.
In Barra da Tijuca, a green upper class neighborhood in which Mr. Bolsonaro garnered over nine times more votes than Mr. Haddad in the first round on October 7, his loyal followers believe that he – and he alone – can repair a country they consider torn apart by crime and corruption.
"I agree with 100% of his proposals," said Waldemar Naves do Amaral, a 26-year-old resident doctor, who stopped and put on a "Bolsonaro Presidente" t-shirt to take a photo outside the closed seaside community where the candidate and congressman from Rio his house.
In a campaign marked by unusual violence – Mr. Bolsonaro himself was stabbed and seriously injured at a rally on September 6 – the young fan said he was applauding his tough stance at the crime , with wishes to relax the laws on firearms, to toughen the conditions of immunity to the police using lethal force.
"I believe this country needs a chance, a radical change," said Naves do Amaral. "You can not be on both sides, the criminal and the state. … You have to choose, [and] you must be more severe. "
Call from the outside
The "outsider" status that the legislator cultivates despite his three decades of political life appeals to Cristian Fernandes, who camps in front of the candidate's home, making a living by selling Bolsonaro t-shirts and dolls. 39; former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, an icon left here in prison attire.
"I have embraced the cause," Fernandes said. "I am here to sow, not to reap: I have a son, I have grandchildren and I need them to have a better Brazil."
A former supporter of the Workers Party, this 44-year-old man is now considering his vote for da Silva, who is now serving a 12-year sentence for corruption, which took him out of the presidential race, a mistake.
"Before, I was 16 to vote for Lula," he said. "[But given] the situation of the country, you can not change. "
Mr. Haddad, catapulted to the top of the list last month when the courts rejected da Silva's request to flee from prison, is thus the default target of popular anger against his party, which led Brazil in 2003 the dismissal of Da Silva in 2016. successor Dilma Rousseff.
While Brazilians are still shocked by a three-year recession and an unprecedented corruption scandal, the enthusiasm for Mr. Haddad is hard to get even in Laranjeiras – l & # 39; 39; one of the few neighborhoods in Rio where Mr. Bolsonaro failed to get the majority.
"I'm against Bolsonaro," said Luisa Morais, an 18-year-old high school student who was voting for the first time. "But I still do not know if [to vote with] a white vote or [for] Haddad because I do not like the PT either.
Jose Antonio Ferreira, a street vendor who sells coconut juice in the streets of Laranjeiras, a stone's throw from the governor of Rio, the governor of Guanabara, will soon be occupied by the politician and Bolsonaro ally Wilson Witzel.
"They are all thieves," said Ferreira, 56, who, knowing that voting is mandatory in Brazil, promised to submit a blank ballot. "I'm not expecting anything, neither from one nor from the other."
The passions on both sides were evident this weekend, as anti-Bolsonaro forces mobilized on Saturday to chant the protest "Do not belong to him" which became their rallying cry. But tens of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters were on the streets of 15 states of this gigantic country, reported the Associated Press.
Bolsonaro has managed to cleverly exploit this powerful mix of dissatisfaction and anti-establishment sentiment, the Washington Times Clovis St. Clair told the author of one of his rare profiles.
"He took advantage of … hatred towards the PT [and] the anti-corruption banner, "said Mr. Saint-Clair. "He possesses this rhetoric, radicalises, polarizes and takes the lead as the PT's No. 1 enemy."
For the author, the frequent comparisons with Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign – Bolsonaro said he admired the US president and embraced his nickname "Brazil's Trump" – are well founded.
"It's the same strategy used by Trump in the United States," he said. "Somewhat dissatisfied people … have been bombarded with information from the far right. … they do not want to think about their options; they just want the PT no longer in power, whatever that brings. "
Post-election issues
What President Bolsonaro would do, meanwhile, remains to guess.
The former paratrooper began his political career as a fervent nationalist, but his future finance minister, the University of Chicago-educated banker, Paulo Guedes, is a market as pro-free as possible.
Although the father of three, married with five children, is fiercely opposed to legalized abortions and same-sex unions, critics have said he still has no comprehensive proposals on pension systems and health care of Brazil.
His blatant intention of relying on military leaders to direct his administration – his second, Hamilton Mourao, is a four-star general, and his cabinet would be composed of "a ton of ministers of the army," he said, pulled the alarm bell. among human rights activists.
Mr. Bolsonaro expressed his concern here and abroad with his vocal defense of the military regime in Brazil from 1964 to 1985 and has close links with conservative groups of soldiers and reservists, Maud Chirio, author of "The uniformed politics: military officers and dictatorship ". in Brazil, "said in an interview.
"Bolsonaro is the product of these networks," she said, "and he was supported by these networks during [his entire] period as a member of Congress. "
The reserve officer will probably use more of the army to fight crime, a strategy adopted by Rousseff and her successor, Michel Temer, which means that today trucks loaded with heavily armed soldiers are a familiar sight on the famous boulevards of the Rio seafront.
"He believes in the usefulness of the militarization of public security," Ms. Chirio said. "[To him,] it's a war against violence and [crime]; and in wars, there are different rules – or no rules. "
Mr. Bolsonaro's attachments and attachments in the military are undeniable, as is the fact that some of his supporters feel called to violence, Duarte said. But fears of an imminent dictatorship are exaggerated, warned the political scientist.
"He will come to the presidency with the legitimacy of the vote, not by a coup d'etat," he said. "And it seems that he will also have a friendly parliamentary base, so that he can do what he wants with [legislative] approval."
In a deeply disillusioned and divided country, Mr. Bolsonaro's greatest challenge could therefore be to reinvent himself as a voice of unity without disappointing the growing hopes of his followers.
"He has never been a very active parliamentarian," said Saint-Clair. "He has gained much notoriety based on controversy, based on homophobic statements, misogynistic statements."
But in the days leading up to Sunday's run-off, Brazilians' political fatigue seems to be such that even minority voters like Ruth Oliveira, a 52-year-old employee at a pay stall in Barra de Tijuca, are demanding a change. .
"Listen, I thought about these things: he's racist, he does not like blacks … he does not like gays," she said. "In spite of that, I will vote for him. Because knowing the dirt of someone else does not matter; what matters is the country. "
The Washington Times Comment Policy
The Washington Times appreciates your feedback on Spot.im, our third-party provider. Please read our comments policy before commenting.
[ad_2]Source link
