Bolsonarismo or The Far-Right in Brazil

The election of 2018 brought to power a breed of Brazilian politician that had never obtained such prominence before in the country. Jair Bolsonaro, elected President with over 55% of the vote in the second round of the election, became the spokesperson and leader of a far-right political alignment in Brazil. Bolsonarismo, as it became known, is composed by multiple dimensions closely inspired by Bolsonaro’s political rhetoric. Bolsonaro is a populist with issues. His platform includes a strong reaction against crime, corruption, gender and LGBTQIA+ politics, with strong militarist, economically liberal, negationist and authoritarian components. Bolsonaro oscillates between radical, illiberal far-right and extreme, authoritarian far-right. Over the years, he has maintained the stable and solid support of over 20% of Brazilian voters, making him the uncontested leader in the right in Brazil, with very little space for an electorally viable "third way". In this paper we explore Bolsonaro’s rhetoric, showing how the main components of Bolsonarismo are clearly spelled out and defended since much earlier than when Bolsonaro became president. In this paper we describe Bolsonaro’s rhetoric during his rise to power and tenure in office. We show how he has defended positions that are associated with the proposed understanding of what the far right represents. We also discuss some of his actions in power, especially regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, but also his disruptive work (Lawrence et al. 2009) in specific areas, such as conditional cash transfer programs. We use evidence from journalistic sources.