Down in Brazil, it’s one crazy story after another.
A week ago, the Supreme Court denied former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva an opportunity to run for election from prison.
A day later, the right-center candidate was stabbed during a campaign stop.
It’s hard to make up stuff like that.
So what happens in a month, when Brazilians vote? According to NPR, Mr. Bolsonaro may be gaining as he recovers in the hospital:
The presidential candidate himself tweeted Saturday afternoon about corruption and freedom, telling followers, “The moment unites and strengthens us. We are in good hands.”A retired army captain, Bolsonaro is leading in the polls, but he has faced condemnation for remarks that his critics have assailed as racist, homophobic and sexist – such as a comment to a congresswoman in 2003 that she did not deserve to be raped by him. Some observers see his rise as akin to President Trump’s – and like Trump, he has called mainstream media “fake news.”
I don’t know if he will be elected and become the Brazilian Trump. I do know that Bolsonaro may be touching some real nerves in Brazil, as candidate Trump did in the U.S.
First, corruption is rampant, and the country is fed up with it. In other words, there is a Brazilian Deep State in the corrupt relationship among big business, big labor, and the politicians who write the rules that no one can understand. It’s crony capitalism at its finest!
Second, the economy is in bad shape. The good news is that the economy is finally growing. The bad news is that the GDP is growing at 1%!
Back in 2014, Brazilians were deeply divided on election day:
Virtually every state that went for Rousseff has at least 25% of the population dependent on Brazil’s Bolsa Familia welfare program of cash for single mothers, given for keeping children vaccinated and in school.States with less than 25% of the population on Bolsa Familia overwhelmingly went for Neves and his policies of growth.
To be honest, the country is just as divided by this dependency as it was back in 2014. Let’s hope there are people fed up with corruption and violence who can change the results.
PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
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