But on Sunday Bolsonaro suffered a crushing defeat to his left-wing nemesis Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in their country’s presidential election. As Lula’s triumph was confirmed, hundreds of thousands of supporters flooded the streets of Sao Paulo to celebrate Bolsonaro’s sudden loss of power. “The unfloppable flopped! The unfloppable flopped!” shouted Gil Alvarenga, a 37-year-old activist from Brazil’s landless movement, as he walked through crowds waving the team’s red flag. “He was a bad president being punished for being a bad president,” said Jose Roberto de Toledo, a political columnist at the UOL news website, who believed Bolsonaro’s clumsy handling of the economy was ultimately what sealed his fate. It is also the story of how moderate, pro-democracy forces finally rallied behind Lula to oust Brazil’s extremist leader in Sunday’s showdown. President-elect Lula celebrates after winning the second round of elections in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 30. Photo: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images “It was a really important moment of unity,” said political journalist Consuelo Dieguez, noting how influential centrists like former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso and senator Simone Tebet swung behind Brazil’s former leftist president. Key to the success of what Lula called their “massive democratic movement” was the president-elect himself – a shrewd negotiator and political giant who has dominated Brazil’s political scene since the 1980s and left office after two terms in 2010 with acceptance rates approaching 90%. Millions of Brazilians now loathe Lula, thanks to corruption scandals involving his Workers’ Party (PT). But enduring adoration, particularly in the northeast, where Lula was born into poverty and received 69.3 percent of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 30.6 percent, was crucial to his victory. “Bolsonaro used every outrageous trick you can imagine in the final stretch of the campaign,” said Renato Rovai, the editor of the progressive magazine Revista Fórum, pointing to billions of dollars in welfare subsidies designed to lure poor voters and a suspected voter attempt. crackdown by federal highway police on election day. However, such was the strength of the 77-year-old leftist that he still prevailed, with more than 60 million votes to Bolsonaro’s 58 million. “This may seem like a small margin, but it is a heroic victory,” Rowai said. “Only Lula could win this.” Rowai compared Lula’s “victory over fascism” to a football match: “It doesn’t matter if you win five-nil or on penalties – you’re still champion.” Bolsonaro’s allies have identified a number of scapegoats in the wake of his ouster. One is Finance Minister Paulo Guedes, who recently undermined Bolsonaro’s false claims that he led a corruption-free government by admitting: “We steal less [than our opponents].” Another is Roberto Jefferson, Bolsonaro’s gun ally who is in jail facing charges of attempted murder after he attacked federal police on the eve of the vote with grenades and a rifle. Carla Zampelli, a far-right lawmaker who was filmed chasing a black journalist at gunpoint just hours before the election, has also been blamed for alienating moderate voters. Supporters of Bolsonaro outside a military base during a protest over his re-election defeat. Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP But perhaps no one bears more responsibility than Bolsonaro himself. Dieguez believed that the president’s relentlessly aggressive and anti-democratic pro-gun rhetoric had left millions of voters disillusioned and desperate for change. “People don’t want this kind of regime in Brazil… People are exhausted. A large part of the population couldn’t take it anymore,” he said. Such was the desire for change that even a politically charged tsunami of welfare payments and loans failed to overturn the election. “He moved heaven and earth … to win this election — and he failed,” Dieguez said. Toledo said such “electoral fraud” – combined with a “barbaric” fake news – had undeniably cost Lula votes. Lula won the first round with more than 6 million votes and prevailed on Sunday with just 2 million. But Bolsonaro’s offensive had still failed. Why; “Because his administration was terrible,” Toledo said. Paulo Celso Pereira, executive editor at O Globo newspaper, said Bolsonaro’s downfall was caused by the same social media revolution that brought him to power in 2018. As president, Bolsonaro made countless hours of live broadcasts containing almost all of the outrageous comments that Lula’s campaign propaganda used against him at the time. They included absurd and insensitive outbursts at the height of Brazil’s Covid disaster, when Bolsonaro mimicked coronavirus victims gasping for air and claimed vaccines turned recipients into alligators. More damaging footage emerged days before the election in which Bolsonaro said he felt a “spark” with a group of 14- and 15-year-old Venezuelan girls whom he falsely accused of being prostitutes. “Bolsonaro is a new type of politician, a bit like [Donald] Trump, a politician in a constant state of overexposure – [and] you are exposed for better, but also for worse,” Pereira said. “As with Trump, the machine that elevated him is the same machine that eventually wears him down.” As Bolsonaro licks his wounds, thoughts turn to what’s next for a radical populist who just lost his first election since becoming a member of Congress in 1991. Supporters of Bolsonaro demonstrate outside the army headquarters in Brasilia, November 2. Photo: Sergio Lima/AFP/Getty Images Many opposition figures hope he will stand trial for a series of crimes he is accused of committing, including his alleged role in hundreds of thousands of deaths from Covid and his fake news attacks on Brazil’s young republic. “He must be held accountable and pay for what he did,” said Henrique Vieira, a progressive pastor and elected congressman. Toledo said it was impossible to predict what, if any, sanctions Bolsonaro might face after losing power and presidential immunity — the answer was likely to depend more on politics than law. Toledo suspected that Bolsonaro would remain an important political figure, despite the fact that he did not have his own political party. Since entering politics three decades ago, Bolsonaro has bounced between nine different parties. “There is a big difference between Bolsonaro and Trump, which is that Bolsonaro does not have a party. Trump managed to join the Republican party.” Bolsonaro had not achieved the same with the Liberal Party (PL) to which he belongs today. Dieguez saw storm clouds gathering on Bolsonaro’s horizon. He had already been abandoned by key allies, including the right-wing governors of Minas Gerais and São Paulo and the speaker of the lower house, Arthur Lira. “Even Silas Malafaia gave his blessing to Lula,” Dieguez said of the influential TV evangelist who was one of Bolsonaro’s biggest cheerleaders but is now praying for Lula. “He’s lonely.” Dieguez believed Bolsonaro would return to the extremist fringes of politics where he made his name as a pro-dictatorship agitator. “He is a political dwarf. It always has been – and it will come back… In four years I think it will be almost nobody,” he said. Bolsonaro’s supporters remain defiant, arguing their leader will seek a return to the presidency in the next election in four years. “The march to 2026 begins today,” outgoing Bolsonaro lawmaker Márcio Tadeu de Lemos tweeted this week. Whatever happens, Bolsonaro’s critics are currently in a state of jubilation and relief. “A great fight lies ahead … but there is light at the end of the tunnel after so much darkness,” said Luciano Andrey Antunes da Silva, a 42-year-old actor, as he celebrated the fall of Bolsonaro in the heart of Sao Paulo. Four years ago Silva stood in the same spot, fruitlessly pleading with voters not to vote for Bolsonaro. On Sunday, he danced a dictatorship-era samba that became the soundtrack to the resistance to the inaccessible cannon that this week finally failed. “It feels great,” the actor said as fireworks went off overhead. “Tomorrow is a new day.”
title: " Brazilians Tired Him How The Unfloppable Bolsonaro Fell Brazil " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-24” author: “Mia Kochel”
But on Sunday Bolsonaro suffered a crushing defeat to his left-wing nemesis Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in their country’s presidential election. As Lula’s triumph was confirmed, hundreds of thousands of supporters flooded the streets of Sao Paulo to celebrate Bolsonaro’s sudden loss of power. “The unfloppable flopped! The unfloppable flopped!” shouted Gil Alvarenga, a 37-year-old activist from Brazil’s landless movement, as he walked through crowds waving the team’s red flag. “He was a bad president being punished for being a bad president,” said Jose Roberto de Toledo, a political columnist at the UOL news website, who believed Bolsonaro’s clumsy handling of the economy was ultimately what sealed his fate. It is also the story of how moderate, pro-democracy forces finally rallied behind Lula to oust Brazil’s extremist leader in Sunday’s showdown. President-elect Lula celebrates after winning the second round of elections in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 30. Photo: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images “It was a really important moment of unity,” said political journalist Consuelo Dieguez, noting how influential centrists like former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso and senator Simone Tebet swung behind Brazil’s former leftist president. Key to the success of what Lula called their “massive democratic movement” was the president-elect himself – a shrewd negotiator and political giant who has dominated Brazil’s political scene since the 1980s and left office after two terms in 2010 with acceptance rates approaching 90%. Millions of Brazilians now loathe Lula, thanks to corruption scandals involving his Workers’ Party (PT). But enduring adoration, particularly in the northeast, where Lula was born into poverty and received 69.3 percent of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 30.6 percent, was crucial to his victory. “Bolsonaro used every outrageous trick you can imagine in the final stretch of the campaign,” said Renato Rovai, the editor of the progressive magazine Revista Fórum, pointing to billions of dollars in welfare subsidies designed to lure poor voters and a suspected voter attempt. crackdown by federal highway police on election day. However, such was the strength of the 77-year-old leftist that he still prevailed, with more than 60 million votes to Bolsonaro’s 58 million. “This may seem like a small margin, but it is a heroic victory,” Rowai said. “Only Lula could win this.” Rowai compared Lula’s “victory over fascism” to a football match: “It doesn’t matter if you win five-nil or on penalties – you’re still champion.” Bolsonaro’s allies have identified a number of scapegoats in the wake of his ouster. One is Finance Minister Paulo Guedes, who recently undermined Bolsonaro’s false claims that he led a corruption-free government by admitting: “We steal less [than our opponents].” Another is Roberto Jefferson, Bolsonaro’s gun ally who is in jail facing charges of attempted murder after he attacked federal police on the eve of the vote with grenades and a rifle. Carla Zampelli, a far-right lawmaker who was filmed chasing a black journalist at gunpoint just hours before the election, has also been blamed for alienating moderate voters. Supporters of Bolsonaro outside a military base during a protest over his re-election defeat. Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP But perhaps no one bears more responsibility than Bolsonaro himself. Dieguez believed that the president’s relentlessly aggressive and anti-democratic pro-gun rhetoric had left millions of voters disillusioned and desperate for change. “People don’t want this kind of regime in Brazil… People are exhausted. A large part of the population couldn’t take it anymore,” he said. Such was the desire for change that even a politically charged tsunami of welfare payments and loans failed to overturn the election. “He moved heaven and earth … to win this election — and he failed,” Dieguez said. Toledo said such “electoral fraud” – combined with a “barbaric” fake news – had undeniably cost Lula votes. Lula won the first round with more than 6 million votes and prevailed on Sunday with just 2 million. But Bolsonaro’s offensive had still failed. Why; “Because his administration was terrible,” Toledo said. Paulo Celso Pereira, executive editor at O Globo newspaper, said Bolsonaro’s downfall was caused by the same social media revolution that brought him to power in 2018. As president, Bolsonaro made countless hours of live broadcasts containing almost all of the outrageous comments that Lula’s campaign propaganda used against him at the time. They included absurd and insensitive outbursts at the height of Brazil’s Covid disaster, when Bolsonaro mimicked coronavirus victims gasping for air and claimed vaccines turned recipients into alligators. More damaging footage emerged days before the election in which Bolsonaro said he felt a “spark” with a group of 14- and 15-year-old Venezuelan girls whom he falsely accused of being prostitutes. “Bolsonaro is a new type of politician, a bit like [Donald] Trump, a politician in a constant state of overexposure – [and] you are exposed for better, but also for worse,” Pereira said. “As with Trump, the machine that elevated him is the same machine that eventually wears him down.” As Bolsonaro licks his wounds, thoughts turn to what’s next for a radical populist who just lost his first election since becoming a member of Congress in 1991. Supporters of Bolsonaro demonstrate outside the army headquarters in Brasilia, November 2. Photo: Sergio Lima/AFP/Getty Images Many opposition figures hope he will stand trial for a series of crimes he is accused of committing, including his alleged role in hundreds of thousands of deaths from Covid and his fake news attacks on Brazil’s young republic. “He must be held accountable and pay for what he did,” said Henrique Vieira, a progressive pastor and elected congressman. Toledo said it was impossible to predict what, if any, sanctions Bolsonaro might face after losing power and presidential immunity — the answer was likely to depend more on politics than law. Toledo suspected that Bolsonaro would remain an important political figure, despite the fact that he did not have his own political party. Since entering politics three decades ago, Bolsonaro has bounced between nine different parties. “There is a big difference between Bolsonaro and Trump, which is that Bolsonaro does not have a party. Trump managed to join the Republican party.” Bolsonaro had not achieved the same with the Liberal Party (PL) to which he belongs today. Dieguez saw storm clouds gathering on Bolsonaro’s horizon. He had already been abandoned by key allies, including the right-wing governors of Minas Gerais and São Paulo and the speaker of the lower house, Arthur Lira. “Even Silas Malafaia gave his blessing to Lula,” Dieguez said of the influential TV evangelist who was one of Bolsonaro’s biggest cheerleaders but is now praying for Lula. “He’s lonely.” Dieguez believed Bolsonaro would return to the extremist fringes of politics where he made his name as a pro-dictatorship agitator. “He is a political dwarf. It always has been – and it will come back… In four years I think it will be almost nobody,” he said. Bolsonaro’s supporters remain defiant, arguing their leader will seek a return to the presidency in the next election in four years. “The march to 2026 begins today,” outgoing Bolsonaro lawmaker Márcio Tadeu de Lemos tweeted this week. Whatever happens, Bolsonaro’s critics are currently in a state of jubilation and relief. “A great fight lies ahead … but there is light at the end of the tunnel after so much darkness,” said Luciano Andrey Antunes da Silva, a 42-year-old actor, as he celebrated the fall of Bolsonaro in the heart of Sao Paulo. Four years ago Silva stood in the same spot, fruitlessly pleading with voters not to vote for Bolsonaro. On Sunday, he danced a dictatorship-era samba that became the soundtrack to the resistance to the inaccessible cannon that this week finally failed. “It feels great,” the actor said as fireworks went off overhead. “Tomorrow is a new day.”
