Far Right Makes Gains in Brazil in First Round of Presidential Race |
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Brazil’s presidential election is headed to a runoff between leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and far-right Senator Flávio Bolsonaro after neither candidate cleared 50% in Sunday’s vote, in which the right made gains in Congress and in governor races across the country. Bolsonaro received 47% of the vote compared to Lula’s 45%. The second round of voting is on October 25. If elected, Flávio Bolsonaro has vowed to grant amnesty to his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest and serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup in 2022 to overturn Lula’s last victory. He has also vowed to strengthen ties to the Trump administration, which is accused of trying to influence the result in Bolsonaro’s favor.
“The momentum has been with the right since 2018,” says Brazilian philosopher Rodrigo Nunes, who explains that public disillusionment with politics is part of that shift. “Lots of people see the far right as promising them, ‘Well, if this is all there is, if all we can expect from the future is ever more dog-eat-dog conditions, an ever more competitive struggle of all against all, at least what the far right says is the state will get off our backs.’”
Nunes is author of Neither Vertical nor Horizontal: A Theory of Political Organization and the new book Anatomy of Disintegration: What Brazil Reveals About the Global Far Right. He recently wrote about the stakes of the Brazilian election for North South Notes.
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show in Brazil, where the presidential race between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and far-right Senator Flávio Bolsonaro is headed to a runoff. During the first round of voting Sunday, Bolsonaro received 47% of the vote; Lula got 45%.
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Bolsonaro is the son of Brazil’s former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, currently under house arrest serving a 27-year sentence after he was convicted of plotting a military coup in 2022 to overturn Lula’s win in that year’s election. If elected, Flávio Bolsonaro has pledged to grant amnesty to his father and others involved in the coup. Flávio has also vowed to strengthen ties to the Trump administration.
In Senate races, Bolsonaro’s party secured 19 of the 54 Senate seats up for grabs. In total, the right or far right won 34 seats. Flávio Bolsonaro spoke to supporters in the capital Brasília.
SEN. FLÁVIO BOLSONARO: [translated] I am very happy about the real possibility that three weeks from now Brazil will give a definitive answer that it wants a modern government, a government with fewer ministries, a government that will restore democracy. What I have to say is that Lula is fighting for power. He has already contested seven presidential elections. Seven presidential elections. He is concerned about power. I am concerned about Brazil’s future. I am fighting for Brazil.
SEN. FLÁVIO BOLSONARO: [translated] I am very happy about the real possibility that three weeks from now Brazil will give a definitive answer that it wants a modern government, a government with fewer ministries, a government that will restore democracy. What I have to say is that Lula is fighting for power. He has already contested seven presidential elections. Seven presidential elections. He is concerned about power. I am concerned about Brazil’s future. I am fighting for Brazil.
AMY GOODMAN: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva addressed supporters in São Paulo.
PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA: [translated] The result is unexpected. We never get everything we want. I must admit that I was convinced that I was going to win on the first round. … But we have the second round, and the runoff is the moment of truth. It’s time to show the true Brazilian picture, because today is the Brazil we want. So, starting tomorrow, we’re launching a new campaign.
PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA: [translated] The result is unexpected. We never get everything we want. I must admit that I was convinced that I was going to win on the first round. … But we have the second round, and the runoff is the moment of truth. It’s time to show the true Brazilian picture, because today is the Brazil we want. So, starting tomorrow, we’re launching a new campaign.
AMY GOODMAN: Ahead of the elections, a group of 31 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, accusing the Trump administration of being engaged in a, quote, “sustained, multifaceted campaign of interference and destabilization in Brazil,” unquote.
We go now to Rio de Janeiro, where we’re joined by Rodrigo Nunes. His new book, out this week, Anatomy of Disintegration: What Brazil Reveals About the Global Far Right. He’s associate professor of philosophy at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro,........