Former president Jair Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil calamitously from 2019 to 2023, remains barred from seeking elected office until 2030 for his role in undermining the democratic institutions of Latin America’s largest nation. This legal remedy, while non-prescribable in the United States, is one that Brazilian jurists can apply in response to rogue figures like Bolsonaro. Six years ago, Brazil’s current president, the grizzled leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was himself disqualified from running for president by the same token.
The difference between the two leaders, of course, is that Bolsonaro’s political agenda is rooted in a general hostility to the pluralistic conviviality that democracy needs in order to function. Not only did Bolsonaro spend months baselessly sowing doubt about his country’s ability to hold a free and fair election in 2022, but he was also petulant and conniving in defeat. He faces the possibility of more serious legal trouble as ongoing investigations of the January 8, 2023, insurrection in Brasília proceed. Last week, Brazilians were reminded of the political chaos recklessly unleashed by Bolsonaro and his allies when a radicalized supporter set off explosives outside the Supreme Federal Court, killing himself in the process.
While damage from the suicide bombing was limited, the incident is a fiery reminder of the nation’s polarization as Brazil hosted the G20 summit for the first time. The G20 brings together the world’s largest economies to discuss issues of trade, climate, security, and other pressing global challenges. Brazil hosted the meeting as the G20’s head, a role that rotates annually. Lula’s priorities for the G20 reflect his long-standing social democratic politics, focusing on the fight against hunger and inequality. Yet a far-right pall hangs over the discussion: despite Lula’s relative popularity, Brazil is set for a major resurgence on the world stage with the imminent…
Auteur: Andre Pagliarini
