To my foreign friends,
As many of you might have seen, Brazil has elected an extremist right-wing authoritarian who often flirts with fascism.
I followed these elections closely and I can assure you that the international press has done a great job in explaining what the recently elected brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, is, what he's done, and what he thinks. Unfortunately, most brazilians didn't get it. In any case, I will summarise some of the points:
- He was formerly in the Army, and he venerates the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964-1985).
- He recently said that the "red threat" should be banned. Sounds like Truman doctrine arrived in Brazil more than half a century late.
- In his speech during the impeachment of the former president Dilma Rousseff, he praised Colonel Ustra, who tortured hundreds of people during the dictatorship. In another occasion he also said: "everybody knows I'm in favour of torture".
- His comments about women reflect his misogynous views. According to him, "some of them can even do a good job". He believes women should earn less than man for getting pregnant. In his own words, he had four sons and after a moment of weakness he got a daughter.
- He declared that he would rather have a dead son than a gay one.
- Teaching kids to do finger guns seems to be one of his campaign strategy, which reflects his pro-guns stance.
- What worries me the most are his recent comments saying that the minorities should adapt to the majority during his government, or leave. This does smell like fascism.
For all of you who are asking how the hell did this guy get elected, I have to say that most people are politically iliterate and they were easily deceived by fake news. Every single brazilian knows someone who believes in conspiracy theories and fall for the "red-threat narrative".
Not all brazilians support Bolsonaro. I am very proud to say that the overwhelming majority of my friends are speaking out against him. We stand against racism, homophobia, misogyny, and all kinds of prejudices. We hold our personal views as such and strive to maintain a secular country. This has been very hard in light of the large reach of the neo-pentecostal churches.
Brazil is still a developing country. Most people are not well educated, crime is widespread. We are not savages. We have great people and the results of these elections do not represent us all.
I'm not sure he'll do what he promises. Honestly, I think the threat-to-democracy card has been a bit overplayed as Congress, Senate, and Supreme Court can and will hopefully hold him back. But I am frightened to have someone who legitimises hate leading the country. People are already starting to get hurt by his followers. I think the Human Rights Watch is right to keep an eye open because the situation may escalate.
Finally, I'm sorry, rest of the world, for electing the president that will f**k with our planet even more. Climate change and rainforest preservation are not in his agenda.
As many of you might have seen, Brazil has elected an extremist right-wing authoritarian who often flirts with fascism.
I followed these elections closely and I can assure you that the international press has done a great job in explaining what the recently elected brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, is, what he's done, and what he thinks. Unfortunately, most brazilians didn't get it. In any case, I will summarise some of the points:
- He was formerly in the Army, and he venerates the military dictatorship in Brazil (1964-1985).
- He recently said that the "red threat" should be banned. Sounds like Truman doctrine arrived in Brazil more than half a century late.
- In his speech during the impeachment of the former president Dilma Rousseff, he praised Colonel Ustra, who tortured hundreds of people during the dictatorship. In another occasion he also said: "everybody knows I'm in favour of torture".
- His comments about women reflect his misogynous views. According to him, "some of them can even do a good job". He believes women should earn less than man for getting pregnant. In his own words, he had four sons and after a moment of weakness he got a daughter.
- He declared that he would rather have a dead son than a gay one.
- Teaching kids to do finger guns seems to be one of his campaign strategy, which reflects his pro-guns stance.
- What worries me the most are his recent comments saying that the minorities should adapt to the majority during his government, or leave. This does smell like fascism.
For all of you who are asking how the hell did this guy get elected, I have to say that most people are politically iliterate and they were easily deceived by fake news. Every single brazilian knows someone who believes in conspiracy theories and fall for the "red-threat narrative".
Not all brazilians support Bolsonaro. I am very proud to say that the overwhelming majority of my friends are speaking out against him. We stand against racism, homophobia, misogyny, and all kinds of prejudices. We hold our personal views as such and strive to maintain a secular country. This has been very hard in light of the large reach of the neo-pentecostal churches.
Brazil is still a developing country. Most people are not well educated, crime is widespread. We are not savages. We have great people and the results of these elections do not represent us all.
I'm not sure he'll do what he promises. Honestly, I think the threat-to-democracy card has been a bit overplayed as Congress, Senate, and Supreme Court can and will hopefully hold him back. But I am frightened to have someone who legitimises hate leading the country. People are already starting to get hurt by his followers. I think the Human Rights Watch is right to keep an eye open because the situation may escalate.
Finally, I'm sorry, rest of the world, for electing the president that will f**k with our planet even more. Climate change and rainforest preservation are not in his agenda.
