Olavo Passos de Souza is a doctoral student in history at Stanford University.
Jair Bolsonaro is now awaiting trial on charges of plotting a coup, depriving Brazil’s far-right bloc of its figurehead. Yet with a presidential election due next year, the Brazilian left hasn’t found a candidate who can match Lula’s popular appeal.
Brazil’s federal police are investigating a plot by far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro and his allies to prevent Lula from taking office in 2023. They’ve now charged the conspirators with scheming to murder Lula, his vice president, and a senior judge.
Javier Milei, who takes office today, prioritized economic over cultural issues in his campaign, unlike his Brazilian kindred spirit Jair Bolsonaro. But the two far-right leaders both reflect the destructive spirit of neoliberalism in its nihilistic phase.
Since taking office as president, Lula has had to navigate a treacherous path, facing a powerful ultraconservative bloc in Brazil’s national congress. The job of repairing state capacity while avoiding an economic downturn will test his skills to the limit.
Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro went on a rampage in a bid to oust Lula’s newly elected government. The antidemocratic thuggery in Brasília has exposed the authoritarianism of Bolsonaro’s political camp and underlined the need for a decisive fightback.
Lula began his third term as Brazil’s president this week while his predecessor scurried off to Florida. The new administration rests on a broad alliance of left-wing and centrist forces that faces a powerful hard-right opposition inspired by Jair Bolsonaro.
Lula defeated Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro in yesterday’s election. The left-wing veteran will face some huge challenges on taking office, but his triumph over Bolsonaro has given Brazilian politics a fresh chance after a disastrous presidency.
Lula won the first round of Brazil’s presidential election yesterday and should beat Jair Bolsonaro in the runoff later this month. But Bolsonaro and his allies outperformed expectations — and Brazil’s far right remains a potent threat to democracy.
Brazil marks two centuries of independence from Portugal today. Far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is using the occasion to help create the mood music for a coup against Brazilian democracy after an October election that he expects to lose.