He’s loud, opinionated, with a long history of offending minorities. Still, far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro easily won Brazil’s presidential election after promising a fundamental change in direction for South America’s biggest country.
Bolsonaro summed up his a no-holds-barred conservative campaign with the slogan “Let’s make Brazil great! Let’s be proud of our homeland once again!”
Think of it as Brazil’s version of “America First.”
He won 55 percent of the vote, easily defeating leftist candidate Fernando Haddad.
Bolsonaro appealed to Brazilians by promising to “break the system” and depart from the status quo after a tumultuous few years.
Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, a rise in violent crime has left some voters yearning for order and security, which Bolsonaro — an ex-military officer — promised to deliver.
But his embrace of “law and order” carries alarming undertones, as he has expressed a fondness for the country’s past military dictatorship.
He yearns to be an authoritarian-type leader, and hates the free press.
His anti-democratic views are just one element of his disturbing rhetoric, though; the president-elect also freely spews misogynistic, anti-LGBTQ, and racist statements.
He has been compared to Trump; both men share a reputation for incendiary rhetoric, have tried to build campaigns on promises to end corruption and crack down on crime and chaos, and know their way around social media.
Indeed, Trump tweeted today that he’d called to congratulate Bolsonaro on his victory.
Had a very good conversation with the newly elected President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who won his race by a substantial margin. We agreed that Brazil and the United States will work closely together on Trade, Military and everything else! Excellent call, wished him congrats!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018
Bolsonaro also tweeted about their conversation, saying the US president had congratulated him on his “historic election.”
Recebemos há pouco ligação do Presidente dos EUA, @realDonaldTrump nos parabenizando por esta eleição histórica! Manifestamos o desejo de aproximar ainda mais estas duas grande nações e avançarmos no caminho da liberdade e da prosperidade!
— Jair Bolsonaro 1️⃣7️⃣ (@jairbolsonaro) October 29, 2018
The former army captain’s rise has been marked by divisive rhetoric and derogatory remarks about women, gay people and the country’s black population.
Dubbed “Trump of the Tropics”, Bolsonaro has promised to champion his country’s powerful agribusiness sector, which seeks to open up more forest to produce the beef and soy that the world demands. He also desires to privatize the Amazon, which acts as a giant sink for the carbon dioxide emissions that the world as a whole produces.