Bolsonaro Will Test Brazil’s Democracy
Voters gambled on a populist who has offered little detail about his plans.
Do they know what they’re getting?
Photographer: Buda Mendes/Getty Images South AmericaBrazil has entered a new and unsettling political era. Voters chose Jair Bolsonaro, a former army captain from a once-fringe political party, as their new president. In the biggest legislative turnover since democracy was restored in 1985, they also booted droves of incumbents out of Congress.
Bolsonaro’s campaign was alarming. He expressed disdain for women, minorities, his political opponents, and the rule of law. He made no secret of his nostalgia for the military dictatorship. He threatened to banish the “red criminals” of the Workers’ Party that governed Brazil from 2003 to 2016, promising “a cleansing never seen in the history of Brazil.”