Homophobia: “I would be incapable of loving a homosexual son.
”
Brazil Election:
Fascism Wins
With US Support
“Fascism is capitalism plus murder.”
- Upton Sinclair
“In Brazil, a poor man goes to jail when he
steals. When a rich man steals, he becomes a
minister.”
- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
The Fascism of Jair Bolsonaro
On October 28, 2018, the runoff election for the presidency of Brazil
was held between Jair Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal Party (PSL)
and Fernando Haddad of the Workers’ Party (PT). Jair Bolsonaro
reportedly won 55.1 percent of the vote, passing the 50 percent
threshold to win the presidency. Bolsonaro’s beliefs are best
expressed in his own words:
Opposition to human rights: “I am in favour of torture, you know that.
And the people are in favour as well.”
Violence towards women: “[She’s] not worth raping; she is very ugly”
Racism towards Afro-Brazilians: “They do nothing! They are not
even good for procreation.”
Misogyny: “I've got five kids but on the fifth I had a moment of
weakness and it came out a woman.”
Hatred of immigrants: “The scum of the earth is showing up in Brazil,
as if we didn't have enough problems of our own to sort out.”
Hatred of indigenous Brazilians: “Not one centimeter of land will be
demarcated for indigenous reserves”
On his political rivals: “Either they go overseas or they go to jail.
These red outlaws will be banished from our homeland... It will be a
clean-up the likes of which has never been seen in Brazilian history”
Bolsonaro is poised to reverse the meager gains in equality made
by each oppressed population of Brazil. He will reverse progress for
LGBTQ people in a country which already has the most anti-LGBTQ
murders in the world [1]. He will reverse gains in women’s rights in a
country that still outlaws abortion. He will allow corporations to take
land and lives of indigenous people in a country where loggers and
miners have begun massacring uncontacted tribes [2]. He will
reverse protections for the Amazon rainforest in a country that has
only recently begun to slow rampant deforestation [3]. He will
increase the entrenched racism in a country where black people
face serious barriers in employment and education [4]. Before the
election police raided universities, confiscating pamphlets and signs
opposing fascism, claiming they were campaigning against
Bolsonaro, clearly showing that they see fascism as synonymous
with Bolsonaro [5]. Already a 63 year old Brazilian was stabbed to
death for supporting Haddad, a singer was jumped for being trans,
and a group carved a swastika into a woman for wearing an
anti-Bolsonaro shirt [6]. Some Brazilians are already fleeing, others
will not make it out alive.
Steve Bannon
The situation in Brazil is not an isolated internal struggle. It’s a result
of both the legacy of past colonialism and the reality of US
imperialism. Colonialism and slavery created the racist white
population in Brazil that formed Bolsonaro’s base. US business
interests preferred anyone to Haddad, afraid that he would continue
the regulation that former Workers Party presidents imposed. Steve
Bannon (former advisor to president Trump) has been representing
the fascist right both in the US and abroad, and in Brazil he worked
on Bolsonaro’s campaign [7]. The US has fallen to the second
largest business partner of Brazil, behind China. Labor laws passed
during the previous Workers’ Party administrations have hurt US
corporate profits [8]. Bolsonaro has promised to pivot away from
China and to roll back labor laws, making him an appealing
candidate to US corporations.
Kangaroo Courts and a Coup
US promotion of fascism in Brazil did not begin with this election,
nor did it begin with the Trump administration. Between 1964 and
1985 Brazil was under a brutal military dictatorship with fascist
tendencies, which Bolsonaro has expressed admiration for.
Following the end of the dictatorship, conditions improved for
Brazilians but exploitation and colonialism continued. In 2003,
Workers’ Party candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, popularly known
as Lula, took office. He served two terms, followed in 2011 by
another Workers’ Party candidate, Dilma Rousseff who was likewise
elected to two terms. Under the Workers’ Party leadership labor
laws were passed to protect workers, the deforestation rate stopped
rising [3], indigenous communities saw some protection, and the
economic and educational barriers for Afro-Brazilians were lowered.
These protections slowed the extraction of resources and lessened
the exploitation of cheap labor by US corporations. US corporate
interests are well represented by the right in Brazil, as demonstrated
by Bolsonaro’s promise to turn away from China and increase
business relations with the US. In 2014 a political attack through
criminal charges began on Workers’ Party leadership. Politically
motivated investigations led to the impeachment of Rousseff in 2016
and the imprisonment of Lula in 2018. Rousseff was impeached
despite the Public Prosecutor’s office finding her not guilty of any
crime [9]. Lula was imprisoned and prevented from running by a
judge that openly opposed him before the trial. The bribe (an
apartment) that Lula supposedly received is not in his name [10].
Election Irregularities
Lula was by far the most popular candidate, but the corruption
conviction forced him to withdraw from the race. This was in
essence a second coup after the removal of Rousseff. Bolsonaro
ironically claimed he feared election fraud, and indicated he wouldn’t
accept a loss, however, Bolsonaro supporters were the ones
breaking election law, bringing guns into voting booths [11]
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Sources:
[1]: Robineau, Jessica: “Brazil: Homosexuality, Religious Beliefs, and
Intolerance”
[2]: Darlington, Shasta: “‘Uncontacted’ Amazon Tribe Members Reported
Killed in Brazil”
[3]: Rosane, Olivia: “Brazil’s New President Could Spell Catastrophe for
Environment, Indigenous Rights and Global Climate”
[4]: Arias, Omar; et al. “Education, Family Background and Racial Earnings
Inequality in Brazil”
[5]: Folha De S. Paulo: “Universidades de todo o país são alvo de ações
policiais e da Justiça Eleitoral”
[6]: BBC: “Brazil Elections: Hate Crimes Reported Include a Murder and a
Swastika Attack”
[7]: TeleSUR: “Steve Bannon to Advise Bolsonaro Presidential Campaign”
[8]: TMF Group: “US Companies Doing Business in Brazil”
[9]: Shahshahani, Azadeh: “An International Tribunal Declares the
Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff an Illegitimate Coup”
[10]: Weisbrot, Mark: “Brazil’s Democracy Pushed Into the Abyss”
[11]: Raymond, Adam: “Jair Bolsonaro Wins First Round of Brazil
Elections”