Controversial far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is running for re-election. Could he win a second term? What is his legacy to Brazilian politics? Are his threats to Brazilian democracy credible?
The upcoming presidential election in Brazil is set to be the most decisive vote-casting in the country since redemocratisation in 1985. Jair Bolsonaro, a polarizing far-right populist, is running for re-election after a controversial first term marked by systemic corruption, record high deforestation of the Amazon Forest, attacks against institutions, rising poverty and unemployment, overt bigotry against minorities, and a chaotic mismanagement of the COVID-19 that resulted in more than six hundred thousand deaths. As public opinion polls indicate Bolsonaro's re-election as unlikely and a most-probable return of Lula da Silva to the presidency, Bolsonaro has discredited the electoral system and threatened to overthrow the regime in a coup d’etat whilst enjoying firm support of a highly mobilized and loyal one-third of the electorate.
Stakes have never been so high for the survival of Brazilian democratic regime and its institutions. What factors will influence vote choice pro and against Bolsonaro? Who are his followers? What will be Bolsonaro’s legacy to Brazilian politics? What can be done to defend Brazilian democracy? Drawing together a panel of experts the event addressed these questions and created a dialogue on the challenges faced by one of the world’s largest democracies.
Panelist
Amanda Segnini
Amanda Segnini is an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity, a climate justice activist and campaigner, and the Co-founder of Engajamundo, a youth-led non-profit in Brazil. She is dedicated to increasing understanding about climate change and finding ways to tackle the climate crisis and become part of the solutions for a sustainable future.
Panelist
Dr Fred Batista
Fred Batista is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, member of the Latin American Studies Program, and affiliate faculty in the School of Data Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His research focuses on voting behaviour, opinions about gender and politics, and political information in Latin America.
Panelist
Professor Rosana Pinheiro-Machado
Rosana Pinheiro-Machado (@_pinheira) is a Professor in the School of Geography at the University College Dublin. She is also the Principal Investigator of the multi-sited project “Flexible Work, Rigid Politics in Brazil, India, and the Philippines”.
Chair
Dr Fabricio Mendes Fialho
Fabricio Mendes Fialho is a Research Fellow at the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme where he contributes to fellowship curriculum development, teaching, and mentoring. He also undertakes research on the AFSEE/III research programme Politics of Inequality.
Banner Image: Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash
