Why the Far-Right Will Continue to Radicalise in Brazil

Abstract

“Brazil is back on the world stage” – this was the main message Lula delivered as honorary guest at the UN Climate Summit in Egypt, less than a month after beating Bolsonaro in the runoff of Brazil’s presidential elections with a narrow margin of 50.9% against 49.1%. Lula’s high-strung victory in a divided country has attracted global media and political attention, reflecting not only concerns about the fate of Brazilian democracy after a long cycle of authoritarianism (2016-2022), but of how the election could point to a change in the correlation of forces in a number of consequential themes that resonate on the international agenda: the urgency of environmental protection and regulation, the resumption of the South American integration process, the possibility of a more assertive BRICS coalition pushing for a transition in economic development policies, the attention to social inclusion, the need to reverse neoliberal reforms related to labour market and public spending mechanisms, the hopes of re-organising international left-wing solidarity, among others.

The first acts of Brazil’s new president: Lula’s new Amazon institutionality

“…Conservative political forces will remain cohesive and aligned with the ruralist agenda of undermining environmental legislation, weakening social movements and appropriating constitutionally protected areas (Campos 2022, Milhorance 2022). These forces include the Agricultural Parliamentary Front and the Evangelical Parliamentary Front (Ferrante & Fearnside 2019).…”