While the chattering classes in the West recoil in horror, and scream ‘fascist!’ in unison, few are able to really grasp how and why Brazil’s stunning election result has come to pass. Just as with the ascendency of Donald Trump and the shock of the BREXIT referendum, Brazilian voters came out in opposition of what they perceived to be The Establishment. Whether they truly got what they intended to have is a matter still to be decided.
The following interview is with Glenn Greenwald, founder of The Intercept, and currently based in Rio de Janero, where he explores the key lessons of this stunning electoral victory by Jair Bolsonaro .
“The right-wing authoritarian Jair Bolsonaro cruised to a 10-point victory on Sunday night in Brazil, becoming President-elect of the world’s fifth most-populous country and the most extremist leader in the democratic world. While some of the dynamics driving his victory are unique to Brazil, many of them are similar to prevailing political currents in North America, Eastern Europe and, increasingly, Western Europe. Bolsonaro’s victory is highly consequential in its own right: for the 210 million people who live within the borders of the country he and his tyrannical movement now dominate, as well as for the region and the globe. But beyond those consequences, there are valuable lessons to learn for all of the democratic world by understanding the sentiments that led Brazilians, en masse, to support someone who, a very short time ago, was relegated to the far fringes of political acceptability and whose ascension to power was unimaginable.” Watch:
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