October’s presidential election is being held amid the greatest division in its history
Between evil and good or between truth and falsehood. There is no Brazilian who omits these definitions when asked about the presidential elections scheduled for October 2 – the first round – and the 30th of the same month, the second, if necessary. Brazil, the country that every foreigner associates with joy, carnival, samba and football upon hearing its name, is experiencing the greatest division in its recent history. And he lives it with a dose of passion that many of his citizens hadn’t experienced. They are forced to choose their next president between two well-known candidates. Or Jair Bolsonaro (67), current president, or Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (76), who led the government between 2003 and 2010.
The election campaign officially started a few days ago, but Brazil has for several months been digesting the controversial statements and accusations of both candidates and the authoritarian actions of the current president on behalf of his allies or potential voters who could keep him in power.
Just over half of citizens want Bolsonaro to continue for another four years. They consider him a God who fights against the political system, who is not afraid to impose his decisions and who saves the values that represented the country with the most inhabitants of the continent during the military government. Bolsonaro firmly believes that he is protected by the divine, while at the same time being a defender of the possession of weapons because, as he claims, “an armed people will never be enslaved”.
Its doctrine rejects gender ideology in schools, says it respects life from the start, opposes the legalization of drugs, and rules out becoming an ally of communism. “Today we are going to talk about politics so that tomorrow no one will forbid us to believe in God,” he said in the inaugural address of his campaign, in Minas Gerais, where he was stabbed in 2018. “The city where I was reborn,” he said proudly as his wife, Michelle, invited the general public to pray an Our Father.
The opposition to Bolsonaro insists that the people who support him today are the same who have harshly criticized the Lula Executive and the Labor Party for distributing money to the poor and also for having a very suspicious relationship with the National Congress. Indeed, one of his cabinet’s last moves was to extend tax exemption to pastors amid a campaign against evangelicals, the religion to which his wife belongs.
When Bolsonaro was stabbed, Lula spent 580 days in prison. He regained political rights in 2021 when the Supreme Court overturned the two convictions against him for corruption and for which he was imprisoned. It is the sixth time that he presents his candidacy. He won in 2002 and 2006 and again leads the polls, with 44% voting intentions, while Bolsonaro has 32%, although some sources assure the current president is distancing himself from his opponent every day.
Union leader, defender of the working class and the most vulnerable population, Lula boasts that he lifted 30 million Brazilians out of poverty during his reign. “This country needs to be respected in the world again,” he announced in his first campaign speech at a workers’ factory. His words were stronger. “I want to tell you, genocidal president, that we don’t want a government that distributes weapons. We want you to distribute books. We don’t want an Executive who feeds hate. We want one that nourishes the soul and love. He accused Bolsonaro of being a denier, not believing in science or medicine. Only in his lie, because if there is anyone who is possessed by the devil, it is Bolsonaro. “He’s a liar like I’ve never seen another,” he said.
The danger of a self-coup by Bolsonaro has gradually diminished. The president came to question the legitimacy of the electoral system and some believed he could cancel the election. In fact, American political scientist and professor Steven Levitsky has noted that “a second Bolsonaro term would be very dangerous for democracy in Brazil. It would give him more control over the courts and other institutions.” Levitsky compares him to Donald Trump.
The writer Paulo Coelho continued when he posted on his Twitter account on July 25: “The president is not stupid. His 24/7 provocations drive the country into confrontation: you know you’re going to lose, you’re building your private army, you don’t need the armed forces as a whole. A few more generals and we’ll have another Francisco Franco in September, before the election. I hope I’m wrong.” The threat of a self-coup d’état haunts the minds of many Brazilians, not just one of the most widely read novelists in the world.
In elections as polarized as nearly all the last ones held in South America, just over half of Brazilians disapprove of the management of Bolsonaro’s government while simultaneously considering it the cause of all the evil. He accuses him of being a destroyer of everything that goes against him, an anti-democratic, directly responsible for the return of inflation – in June it was 11.89%, in July it fell to 10.1% – of hunger, of the more than 675,000 deaths caused by the pandemic and many other economic and social problems facing Brazil. Of course, it’s not your best carnival, nor is it a samba to dance to.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
