Brazilians headed to the polls in October to elect a brand new president in a bruising runoff between two candidates providing starkly totally different visions for the way forward for Latin America’s largest democracy.
The vote got here after an extended and ugly marketing campaign that pitted the right-wing incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, towards the two-term former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Mr. Bolsonaro rallied supporters round what he referred to as a leftist assault on household values and particular person liberties. He forged teachers, the media and even democratic establishments, together with Brazil’s Congress and Supreme Courtroom, as enemies.
Mr. Lula, who in the end received the election, vowed to control for all Brazilians, whereas returning the nation to a extra affluent previous, although his historical past of corruption scandals divided voters.
A lot of the marketing campaign, which was marked by misinformation and harsh on-line assaults, devolved into mudslinging with little dialogue of the challenges the nation’s subsequent chief would face.
What had been the problems?
The election got here at a vital second for Brazil, the place surging meals and gas costs, coupled with a painful financial slowdown, have precipitated poverty to surge, reversing many years of social and financial progress.
Environmental and local weather worries additionally loomed massive. Deforestation within the Amazon hit 15-year highs beneath Mr. Bolsonaro, who weakened environmental protections and argued that the rainforest must be opened to mining, ranching and agriculture. The Amazon’s destruction — and its results on the efforts to avert a local weather disaster — has turned Brazil into a world outcast.
There have been additionally issues in regards to the well being of Brazil’s democracy. Mr. Bolsonaro sowed doubts in regards to the integrity of the electoral system, claiming with out proof that the nation’s digital voting machines might be rigged. His efforts fueled worries at dwelling and overseas {that a} potential loss for Mr. Bolsonaro would immediate him to rally his hundreds of thousands of supporters to take to the streets and demand that he stay in energy.
What did Mr. Lula suggest?
Mr. Lula oversaw an period of development throughout his two phrases in workplace, when a commodity-fueled increase turned Brazil into a world success story. He promised to return the nation to these glory days.
The leftist candidate vowed to boost taxes on the wealthy and enhance public spending, “placing the individuals within the price range.” His plans embody a slew of social packages, resembling a $113 month-to-month money voucher rivaling the one proposed by Mr. Bolsonaro. Poor households with youngsters can even obtain an extra $28 monthly for every youngster beneath 6.
Mr. Lula additionally promised to regulate Brazil’s minimal wage in keeping with inflation and revive a housing plan for the poor, whereas guaranteeing meals safety for individuals going through starvation.
A former commerce unionist, Mr. Lula deliberate to kick-start development and “create work and employment alternatives” by spending on infrastructure. However he additionally deliberate to spend money on a “inexperienced financial system,” warning that Brazil should shift to extra sustainable vitality and meals methods.
On the Amazon, Mr. Lula has signaled that he’ll crack down on environmental crimes by militias, land grabbers, loggers and others.
What did Mr. Bolsonaro suggest?
Mr. Bolsonaro promised at hand out money funds of about $113 a month to needy households, extending a brief coverage initially created to ease the pandemic’s blow. The plan was designed to “cut back poverty and contribute to sustainable financial development,” in accordance with Mr. Bolsonaro’s official coverage plan.
Forward of the election, Mr. Bolsonaro spent closely on welfare and gas subsidies.
He additionally pledged to create jobs by eliminating bureaucratic pink tape, slashing taxes and investing in know-how. In an extra nod to enterprise leaders, who supplied him important help throughout his first run for president, Mr. Bolsonaro stated he would preserve a free market method and preserve public debt in verify.
Echoing the rhetoric that received him help from ultraconservative and evangelical voters 4 years in the past, Mr. Bolsonaro additionally promised to defend “the household,” opposing authorized abortion and transgender training in faculties.
Mr. Bolsonaro additionally promised to develop tough-on-crime insurance policies, pledging to additional develop entry to firearms, a coverage he credit for a drop in violent crime throughout Brazil.
How did Mr. Bolsonaro sow doubts in regards to the election’s legitimacy?
Brazilians forged ballots on digital voting machines, a system that has been in place for greater than twenty years and that has been the main focus of Mr. Bolsonaro’s claims in regards to the threat of election fraud.
Mr. Bolsonaro has framed a hack of Brazil’s election company in 2018 as proof of fraud, though an investigation confirmed that the hackers weren’t in a position to change vote totals or entry voting machines.
Mr. Bolsonaro has additionally pointed to Mr. Lula’s previous corruption fees, which had been nullified, as proof that he was a thief planning to steal the vote.
Flawed polls additionally raised questions in regards to the credibility of polling companies and gave credence to Mr. Bolsonaro’s claims that the surveys didn’t precisely mirror his reputation. Within the first spherical of voting, Mr. Lula received 48 % of the vote, whereas Mr. Bolsonaro acquired 43 %, considerably outperforming pre-election polls.
