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SAO PAULO (AP) – The Brazilians Sunday weighed their thirst for radical change against fears that the presidential candidate could threaten democracy as he voted at the polls in a bitter campaign that divided many families and was often marked by violence.
Right-wing MP Jair Bolsonaro has convinced many voters by describing Brazil at war – with criminals, corrupt politicians and leftist ideas that could turn the country into Venezuela – and promising to change course action with strength and own governance. .
Recent polls have shown Bolsonaro 8 to 10 points ahead of his rival, the left-wing candidate Fernando Haddad of the Workers Party. Several major riders on Saturday night left Haddad camp hope that they could still win.
"I am convinced that we can win," said Haddad after the vote. "There are a lot of Democratic voices that could have shut up and spoken in our favor."
On Saturday, a former Supreme People's Court judge, Joaquim Barbosa, tweeted his support for Haddad, saying Bolsonaro's candidacy had frightened him. Similarly, former Attorney General Rodrigo Janot, one of the biggest anti-corruption crusaders in the Haddad Workers Party in recent years, supported Haddad for similar reasons.
Youtuber Felipe Neto, whose channel has nearly 27 million subscribers, is one of the most important visionaries, especially for young people.
Neto said he was troubled by Bolsonaro's remarks last week that "red" leftists are being driven out of Brazil.
"In 16 years of the Workers Party, I was robbed but never threatened," Neto said on Twitter.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain with a mediocre record in Congress for 27 years, has grown to the disgust of the Brazilian political system after a corruption scandal and prolonged recession. In particular, many Brazilians are furious with the Workers Party for its role in the corruption program, known as "Carwash," and Haddad is struggling to fulfill his promises of a return to the period of prosperity by investing in health and education and reducing costs. poverty.
"If you have three simultaneous crises – economic, political and moral, in an ethical way – I think you are creating a scenario that is perfectly suited to outsiders and marginal and authoritarian candidates," said Oliver Stuenkel, associate professor of international law. relations at the University Fundacao Getulio Vargas de Sao Paulo. "It is not unlikely that we are witnessing an erosion of Brazilian democracy. We are already seeing it now. "
Many in Brazil and beyond have expressed concern about a decline in civil rights and a weakening of institutions in a still young democracy, especially since Bolsonaro became nostalgic for the 1964-1985 Brazilian military dictatorship and announced that he would appoint members to his cabinet.
More than a dozen members of the US Democratic Congress have written a letter urging Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to make clear that US aid and cooperation with Brazil "depend on respect for human rights." Fundamental man and democratic values by his leaders. "
The last years in Brazil have been exceptionally turbulent. In 2016, the then President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers' Party was indicted and dismissed for reasons which, in the opinion of many members of the Left, were politically motivated. . The economy has suffered a two-year recession and is only beginning to emerge, with stagnant growth and high unemployment. And dozens of politicians and leaders have been jailed in Carwash's corruption investigation, which revealed a multi-billion dollar ploy to swap public contracts and official favors against jars. wine and bribes.
This instability sparked extreme anger against the political class, but also revealed deep divisions in Brazilian society. This campaign has been the most polarized in decades. Many politically motivated violence has been reported, especially against gay men, which Bolsonaro denigrated. Bolsonaro himself was stabbed and nearly died at a campaign event in early September.
"I'm not crazy about Bolsonaro. But it is our way of keeping the Workers' Party out of the office, "said Rafaela Rosa, a 32-year-old teacher, after voting Sunday in Sao Paulo. "We had enough corruption and now we have to clean up."
Many observers have predicted that a newcomer would emerge to exploit this anti-establishment anger. Instead, support rallied around Bolsonaro, who is and is not an outsider: he has sat for nearly three decades in Congress, but he has often been on the sidelines of this institution and has introduced himself like the strong man Brazil needed to survive. dismantle a failed system. Reinforcing her rebel image is her reputation for offensive statements and sometimes extreme views, including insulting women, gays and blacks.
The Bolsonaro campaign was initially successful in its promise to attack violent crime in a country that leads the world in homicide and where many Brazilians live in daily fear of aggression or burglary. But his wishes to loosen the gun laws and give the police more freedom in the use of force against the suspects have also caused fears that a Bolsonaro presidency will not lead bloody repression and erosion of civil rights.
The campaign gained momentum by conquering much of the business world by promising to implement market-friendly reforms that would reduce the size of the Brazilian state, including removing government departments and privatizing state-owned enterprises.
Haddad has taken the opposite step by promising to double investments in education, health and social programs, saying that Brazil's progress in reducing poverty during the boom years has eroded. and that the poorest suffer.
"I still have hope that Haddad will be able to reverse the situation," said 58-year-old Mario Victor Santos, former mediator of the Folha newspaper in S. Paulo, whom Bolsonaro has repeatedly said has spread "false news" to his subject. "And if Haddad did not (win), we showed that resistance to an administration of Bolsonaro would be very hard."
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Prengaman contributed from Rio de Janeiro.
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