Impact of Populist rhetoric on Electoral Institutions: A case study of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro

The rise of Donald Trump in the US and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil provides an excellent opportunity to study and better understand populism in the Americas. For the most part, populism has long been considered a threat to liberal democracies, especially those with underdeveloped institutions. Although several traits of populism make its coexistence with democracy a challenge, the tendency of populist leaders to undermine democratic institutions, notably those designed to contain their power, is of particular relevance. Therefore, understanding the negative impact populist rhetoric could have on democratic institutions and how the system reacts to them becomes critical for those trying to design more resilient institutions. This work contributes to this subject by analysing the relationship between populism and electoral institutions through a comparative study of the adverse effects of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro on the electoral institutions in their respective countries. Toward this end first, I present the importance of institutions in building stable democracies and how populism presents a threat to such institutions in general and electoral institutions in particular. Second, by explaining specifically Trump's brand of populism (Trumpism) and Bolsonaro's brand of populism (Bolsonarism), I will showcase how they impacted the electoral institutions of the US and Brazil respectively.