RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The British newspaper Financial Times published an editorial on Sunday entitled “Jair Bolsonaro sparks fears for Brazilian democracy”. In the text, the newspaper mentions the Brazilian President’s close ties with the Army and his endorsement of demonstrations calling for the return of the military dictatorship, reports the recent clashes of the Executive with institutions in the country and alerts to the “real” risk to the largest democracy in Latin America.
The FT recalls the similarities of Trump and Bolsonaro, known as “Tropical Trump”, but stresses the possibility of the Brazilian “undermining” institutions. According to the FT, Trump and Bolsonaro are nationalists who “profess a love of God and guns,” a penchant for government via Twitter tirade and a fondness for energizing their base with divisive rhetoric.
“But in Brazil, there is a more disturbing possibility: that an increasingly embattled Mr. Bolsonaro is disillusioned with the democratic process by which he won office and wants to undermine the institutions that underpin the nation,” the newspaper warns.
The British newspaper recalled that the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Justice Celso de Mello warned his peers last weekend that Brazil looked like Nazi Germany. “That might sound exaggerated. But few elected presidents would contemplate attending a rally at which demonstrators call for congress and the supreme court to be shut down and replaced with military rule,” the FT says in the editorial.
“Yet that is what Mr. Bolsonaro has done — not once, but several times. Last weekend he appeared at such a rally on horseback; on other occasions, his supporters have carried flaming torches and worn paramilitary uniforms. His culture minister was forced to resign after quoting the Nazi Joseph Goebbels.”
According to the Financial Times, after a military dictatorship that lasted over 20 years, leaving the country in “economic chaos and spiraling foreign debt,” as well as “deep scars of the persecution and murder of hundreds of political opponents,” democracy in Latin America’s largest nation has made “great progress”.
The FT cites, for example, the 1988 Constitution, the removal of the military from power, and the emergence of new civil institutions such as the STF, Congress, and “a vibrant and independent” press. “These institutions now attract Bolsonaro’s ire,” the British newspaper says, referring to the investigation into an alleged fake news operation involving his sons and the request to seize Bolsonaro’s cell phone amid investigations into interference with the autonomy of the Federal Police.
At the end of the article, the Financial Times says Brazilians are now concerned that Bolsonaro may be attempting to provoke a crisis between the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary to justify military intervention. The attempt would occur, says the FT, amid falling poll ratings and mounting problems with the coronavirus pandemic, low expectations regarding the implementation of economic reforms, and capital flight.
“So far, Brazil’s institutions have withstood the onslaught, with strong public support. It is unlikely the army would back a military takeover to install Mr Bolsonaro as an autocrat. But other countries should take note: the risks to Latin America’s largest democracy are real, and they are growing.”
Source: Estadão Conteúdo