The
far-right Brazilian congressman, Mr. Jair Bolsonaro emerged the Brazil's new
president after a keenly contested polls held on Sunday, 28th October
2018.
Overwhelmed
supporters of the Brazil's president-elect, Mr. Bolsonaro took to the streets
of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday after the far-right congressman was declared the
winner of the country's presidential election by a wide margin.
Bolsonaro's
victory caps ones of the most polarizing and violent political campaigns in
Brazil's history, amid a prolonged recession, rising crime rates and widespread
corruption scandals.
In
a victory speech Sunday, Bolsonaro said he was a "defender of
freedom" who would run a government that protected citizens who
"follow their duties and respect the laws."
"The
laws are for everyone, this is how it will be during our constitutional and
democratic government," he stated.
Bolsonaro
was declared the winner by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal after 94% of the
votes were counted, easily defeating his leftist, ex-Sao Paulo Mayor Fernando
Haddad.
Supporters
of the far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro celebrated in front of
his house in Rio de Janeiro on October 28.
The
electoral tribunal released early results showing Bolsonaro leading with 55.54%
of votes to Haddad's 44.46%, a difference larger than the amount of votes left
to be counted.
But
while Bolsonaro's supporters were rejoicing on Sunday, opponents voiced
concerns that his victory could threaten human rights and ecological preservation
in the world's fourth largest democracy.
Speaking
earlier in the day, Haddad said Brazil's democracy was "at stake" in
Sunday's vote. "I believe today is a great day for the country which has
arrived at a crossroads," he said.
Troubled
over Bolsonaro's promises to open up tracks of the Amazon rainforest to
development, environmental groups warned his election would be a "profound
setback."
"His
reckless plans to industrialize the Amazon in concert with Brazilian and
international agribusiness and mining sectors will bring untold destruction to
the planet's largest rainforest and the communities who call it home, and spell
disaster for the global climate," Amazon Watch program director Christian
Poirier opined to newsmen.
Jair
Bolsonaro waves after voting in the presidential runoff election in Rio de
Janeiro on October 28.
Politically motivated violence
Bolsonaro
won the first round of the elections in October amid a field of 13 candidates,
but he fell short of the 50% needed to win outright and avoid a runoff against
Haddad, from the Workers' Party.
"This
has been an unprecedented election," said Marco Antonio Teixeira, a
political science professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. "The
rhetoric used by both candidates throughout the campaign has been extremely
aggressive."
That
hostility has carried over into the streets. Dozens of politically motivated
acts of violence have been registered by voters, journalist and politicians.
Bolsonaro, 63, was stabbed in the stomach last month
during a rally in the city of Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais state. When he went
to cast his ballot on Sunday, the congressman wore body armor and arrived by
the back entrance.
The
stabbing took him off the campaign trail for weeks as he recovered. But it
strengthened his position among Brazilians looking for a change.
Bolsonaro's
increased visibility prompted a social media backlash known as #elenao, or
#nothim, which gained support throughout the country and internationally.
During
his Brazil tour, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters exhibited the slogan on
stage in neon lights and chanted "ele nao" with the crowd.
Protesters
have also taken the chant to the streets during a recent "Women Against
Bolsonaro march" in Sao Paulo.
"Bolsonaro
has opened a Pandora box," protest organizer Luka Franca said. "He's
given a voice to an ultra right population who want to voice their prejudice
and annihilate anyone who is different."
Ugly rhetoric
Bolsonaro,
who has been compared to US President Donald Trump and Philippines President
Rodrigo Duterte, has stirred controversy by making misogynistic, racist and
homophobic remarks.
He
once told a congresswoman that she did not deserve to be raped because she was
"very ugly," Brazil's TV Globo reported.
He
also said publicly he'd prefer to see his son "die in an accident"
than a member of his family be homosexual.
"This
negative discourse he's spreading is killing people," Felipe Lago, a
29-year-old fashion producer told CNN. "If he wins, who knows what will
happen to us?"
A
banner promoting Workers' Party presidential candidate Fernando Haddad during a
rally in Brasilia.
Lago
created an Instagram account called "elenaovaoinosmatar," or "he
won't kill us" in English, shortly after being verbally assaulted and
threatened by a group of Bolsonaro supporters for being gay.
"Although
I was scared, I decided to post what happened to me on Facebook," Lago
said. "I got a lot of responses from friends and others saying the same
thing happened to them."
His
Instagram account has more than 100,000 followers and includes videos of others
who say they experienced similar assaults.
In
their final days on the campaign trail, both Bolsonaro and Haddad asked their
supporters not to engage in violence.
Keeping out the Workers' Party
For
some Brazilians, like teacher Alexandre Vastella, voting for Bolsonaro was more
about keeping the Workers' Party (PT) out of office.
"I
want Bolsonaro to be President, not because he's the ideal person, but because
we can't risk letting the PT back in power," Vastella told newsmen.
"Sure, all of the major parties are corrupt but the PT created an
infrastructure of corruption."
The
Workers' Party governed Brazil for more than 13 years under President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva, from 2003 to 2011, and his successor Dilma Rousseff, from
2011 to 2016.
Lula,
as he is popularly known, left office with a 83% approval rating, after his
policies helped lift millions of Brazilians out of poverty.
Many
politicians, including Lula, were caught in a wide-ranging, 4-year anti-graft
probe known as "Operation Car Wash." He was arrested in April
2018 and given a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering.
Despite
the arrest, Lula was running for a third term and leading in the polls until he
was barred from running by the country's top electoral court in September. His
running mate, Haddad, replaced him on the ballot and became his party's default
candidate.
Voting
is compulsory in Brazil, but some undecided voters, like Sao Paulo resident
Mauricio Soares, had chosen to vote null or blank.
"The
decision of voting null came after a lot of thought and I am firm in my
decision," Soares told CNN. "I am not neutral. I am positioning
myself against both candidates."
Teixeira,
the professor, said the winner must bridge the divide caused by the campaign.
"If
the next president only governs for his supporters, the divisiveness we're
living will remain. If he chooses to govern for the whole country, there is a
greater chance these conflicts will be minimized or disappear," Teixeira
said.
