Brazil’s Bolsonaro signals cooperation with transfer of power, but does not concede election defeat
Hide the facts: The Guardian has just revealed that more than a million Brazilians (nearly half of its population) voted for Bolsonaro on Sunday. Photograph: Carlos Cruz/Reuters
This week, the Brazilian electorate will vote for the president of its most important nation. With 90% turnout, voters of all ages will be given the choice in an extraordinarily important election.
While the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, faces impeachment in Brazil’s senate, the candidate will be an unknown outsider. On Saturday night, he set up the most controversial campaign in Brazilian history with a promise of massive economic change. So far, so uncontroversial.
However, this week will be a moment to reflect on the democratic institutions Brazil has built in order to promote human rights, ensure civil liberties and promote accountability in governments, and – it’s been a long time coming – for those who have lost hope in this country to be shown the door.
On the same day that Brazilian voters will be presented with the possibility of having a democratic election and a president who promised to change the lives of millions, the Guardian revealed that more than a million Brazilians had voted for Bolsonaro.
In the final hours of the vote, Bolsonaro promised to end the era of corruption, end the military’s intervention in politics, open up to the world, and take Brazil into the next century.
He is not alone in his offer of change. While Brazilians are still digesting his extraordinary manifesto speech with much debate, politicians across the world are already making plans to move their countries towards his policies. But it has not been a simple decision. Brazil has been at odds with a number of other nations for years while the rest of the world has remained relatively apathetic.
For years, Brazil has been at odds with a number of other nations for years while the rest of the world has remained relatively apathetic.
