Lula Counters Latin America’s Dramatic Trumpification |
The Trumpist and evangelical right in Brazil had a swan song written for Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and Brazil’s Nova Republica. The Bolsonaro team had a Plan B ready as well. After all, former president Jair Bolsonaro had plotted a coup to remain in power in 2022. His son, Flavio Bolsonaro, who led in the first round, was vocal about “redemocratising” Brazil, seeking to introduce his father’s authoritarian project, including robust caucuses in both houses of parliament and curtailing the powers of the supreme court.
Flavio, now a fugitive, has made himself a laughingstock, claiming to be Charles de Gaulle and “true president-elect”.
The New Republic, a democratic pact that emerged from the debris of a two-decade-old military dictatorship, was incorporated into the 1988 constitution. Since then, Brazil has been a shining example of a vibrant democracy and rule of law. By re-electing Lula, Brazil has rebuffed Trump's dirty game of regime change in the country.
Lula’s victory by a margin of 4.4 million votes after trailing in the first round is a major boost for the left in Latin America, which has been on a losing trail for the past few years. Besides Lula in Brazil, only Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, Yamandu Orsi of Uruguay, and Bernardo Arevalo of Guatemala represent the left. Cuba is a socialist state, and Nicaragua is a Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo dynasty. Latin America is no more “red hot”.
But is the Pink Tide over? It would be misleading to characterise the recent victory of the far-right in Latin America as a genuine........