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Brazil, a divided country

2022-10-03T00:07:09.551Z


Brazilians are heading for a second electoral round in the midst of extreme polarization, after verifying that Bolsonarism has caught on more than expected


Bolsonaro supporters, this Sunday night in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. CARL DE SOUZA (AFP)

In the world history of demographic triggers, these Brazilian elections are guaranteed a place of honor.

The country's legislation allowed polls to be published until Saturday itself and the figures from the country's most reputable institutes hardly offered any differences: the only question left was whether Lula da Silva, with an intention to vote of around 50% and more than ten points ahead of Jair Bolsonaro, he was already winning or should wait for the second round.

The polls have been opened and those responsible for the demographic institutes must be about to cut their wrists.

Not only will there be a second round, but it will be much more disputed than expected.

There are only two explanations: either the Brazilian polling companies are a disaster—and the record suggests otherwise—or the citizens have cynically lied to them.

Confessing that you vote for a rude and violent guy, who spends his life insulting and threatening half the world, should not be a very pleasant dish.

The polls more or less came close to predicting Lula's harvest, but Bolsonaro was grossly underestimated.

The distance between what the polls drew and what the polls have shown is the one between what seemed like a country willing to close wounds and a real country that is completely divided.

Brazil is heading into a pre-election month in the midst of extreme polarization.

And it grants a golden opportunity to Bolsonaro to continue agitating his delusional insinuations of electoral fraud and his coup threats.

Bolsonaro did not only measure himself against Lula.

Opposite him were some of the main media outlets, important center-right figures, even certain sectors of the business community, all traditionally hostile to Lula, but who now saw in him the only option to defend democratic institutions, shaken by four years of Bolsonarist bullying.

Surely everyone underestimated how far the brutal speech of the former parachute captain has penetrated society.

A man who has repeatedly flirted with the coup;

that he has insulted the magistrates of the Supreme Court, women, indigenous populations and journalists;

that he campaigned against vaccines while tens of thousands of Brazilians died of covid;

that he left the Amazon at the mercy of landowners and gold seekers….

That man has comfortably surpassed 40% of the votes, after four years of showing incompetence and without even the wind of the economy blowing in his favor.

Everything also indicates that his followers will have a strong presence in Congress.

The seed of Bolsonarism has taken root in Brazilian society.

And the bulk of the white middle class has not forgotten its deep hatred of the first son of a poor family who reached the presidency of the country.

Lula already warned during the campaign: "We will defeat Bolsonaro, but Bolsonarism will continue."

At the moment the first is not even guaranteed.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-10-03

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