{"id":121157,"date":"2018-10-29T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=121157"},"modified":"2018-11-05T11:25:53","modified_gmt":"2018-11-05T11:25:53","slug":"jair-bolsonaro-is-elected-president-of-brazil-read-his-extremist-far-right-positions-in-his-own-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/10\/jair-bolsonaro-is-elected-president-of-brazil-read-his-extremist-far-right-positions-in-his-own-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Jair Bolsonaro Is Elected President of Brazil. Read His Extremist, Far-Right Positions in His Own Words."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Photo: Mauro Pimentel\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n

28 Oct 2018 – <\/em>Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil today. The far-right candidate received more than 55 percent of valid votes. His opponent, Fernando Haddad of the Workers\u2019 Party, received less than 45 percent. In a country with compulsory voting, almost 29 percent of adults preferred to annul or not cast their ballot.<\/p>\n

Across Brazil, city streets echoed with fireworks, shouts, and car horns as preliminary election results came in. Thousands of supporters, many dressed in green and yellow, assembled outside the president-elect\u2019s beach-front residence in Rio de Janeiro. On S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s main street, Avenida Paulista, police used tear gas to separate Haddad and Bolsonaro voters.<\/p>\n

Bolsonaro, who has taken aim at the media throughout his campaign, chose to make his first statement after the election via Facebook Live, rather than a press conference. \u201cWe could not continue to flirt with socialism, communism, populism, and the extremism of the left,\u201d he said. The broadcast was picked up by major TV networks, but repeatedly froze due to connection issues. \u201cAll of the promises made to\u00a0political groups and the people will be kept,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Soon after, he stepped outside, made a brief statement to the media, and asked a key supporter, senator Magno Malta, to lead the group in prayer. He then read a prepared statement and took questions from a representative of the press.<\/p>\n

The Workers\u2019 Party originally ran former president Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva as their candidate, and he was the clear favorite in the polls. However, they were forced to swap him out at the last minute for Haddad,\u00a0a former mayor of S\u00e3o Paulo who failed to win reelection in 2016, after Lula was sent to prison<\/a> on a questionable corruption conviction and it became clear that higher courts would not overturn the sentence<\/a>. Hindered by a late start and the lack of a national profile, Haddad struggled to gain name recognition and failed to distance himself<\/a> from public perceptions that linked his party to corruption and the status quo. Nonetheless, with the strong base of the Workers\u2019 Party and\u00a0the\u00a0message, \u201cHaddad is Lula,\u201d the 55-year-old academic was able to scrape his way through the first round of elections on October 7, taking 29 percent of the vote in a 13-way contest.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s elections were particularly fraught, marked by dramatic polarization<\/a>, political violence<\/a>, and massive disinformation campaigns on social media, in a country\u00a0that has been roiled by years of social, economic, and political crises. Since 2013, millions of people of all political stripes have repeatedly\u00a0taken to the streets in protest<\/a>;\u00a0Brazil has struggled to climb out of the worst recession in history; massive corruption scandals have destabilized political institutions and major economic players; former president Dilma Rousseff (also\u00a0from the Workers\u2019 Party) was impeached on dubious grounds; her successor, president Michel Temer (the most despised leader in Brazil\u2019s democratic history<\/a>), has pushed through a series of unpopular austerity measures; and Lula was jailed, a process which has exposed the judiciary to relentless criticism for perceived partisanship.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Bolsonaro supporters parade a fake coffin representing the Worker\u2019s Party (PT), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the second round of the presidential elections, on October 28, 2018.
Photo: Carl de Souza\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n

In short, every major political institution has\u00a0been increasingly discredited as Brazil has spiraled deeper and deeper into a dark void. And from the abyss emerged a former army captain and six-term congressman from Rio de Janeiro, Jair Bolsonaro, with\u00a0the slogan \u201cBrazil above everything, God above everyone,\u201d and promises to fix everything with hardline tactics.<\/p>\n

Seven years ago, Bolsonaro was a punchline for the political humor program CQC, where he\u2019d make outrageous statements. A former presenter, Monica Iozzi, said they interviewed him multiple times \u201cso people could see the very low level of the representatives we were electing.\u201d Now, it\u2019s Bolsonaro who is laughing and Iozzi says she regrets having given him airtime<\/a>. Riding the wave of public discontent, Bolsonaro campaigned against the Workers\u2019 Party, corruption, politicians, crime, \u201ccultural Marxism,\u201d communists, leftists, secularism, and \u201cprivileges\u201d for historically marginalized groups.\u00a0Instead, he favored\u00a0\u201ctraditional family values,\u201d \u201cpatriotism,\u201d nationalism, the military, a Christian nation, guns, increased police violence<\/a>, and neoliberal economics<\/a> that he promises will revitalize the economy. Despite his actual political platform being short on specific proposals, the energy around his candidacy was enough to win the presidency and turn his previously insignificant Social Liberal Party<\/a> into the second-largest bloc in Congress.<\/p>\n

But what has frightened his opponents, many international observers<\/a>, and even some\u00a0fervent<\/a> Workers\u2019 Party critics<\/a>, are Bolsonaro\u2019s repeated declarations in favor of Brazil\u2019s military dictatorship,\u00a0torture, extrajudicial police killings, and violence against LGBTQs, Afro-Brazilians, women, indigenous peoples, minorities, and political opponents, as well as his opposition to democratic norms and values.<\/p>\n

Here\u00a0is Brazil\u2019s next president in his own words over the years. In the coming months, Brazil and the world will discover if Bolsonaro will make good on\u00a0these drastic promises\u00a0when he takes office on January 1, 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am in favor of a dictatorship, a regime of exception.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013\u00a0Open session of the<\/a><\/em> C\u00e2mara<\/a><\/em> dos Deputados<\/a>, 1993<\/em><\/p>\n

Interviewer: If you were the President of the Republic today, would you close the National Congress?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt about it. I\u2019d do a coup on the same day! It [the Congress] doesn\u2019t work! And I\u2019m sure at least 90\u00a0percent of the population would throw a party, would applaud, because it does not work. Congress today is good for nothing, brother, it just votes for what the president wants. If he is the person who decides, who rules, who trumps the Congress, then let\u2019s have a coup quickly, go straight to a dictatorship.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>C\u00e2mara Aberta TV program<\/a><\/em>, May 23, 1999<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe pau-de-arara [a torture technique] works. I\u2019m in favor of torture, you know that. And the people are in favor as well.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 C\u00e2mara Aberta TV program<\/a>, May 23, 1999<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThrough the vote you will not change anything in this country, nothing, absolutely nothing! It will only change, unfortunately, when, one day, we start a civil war here and do the work that the military regime did not do. Killing some 30,000, starting with FHC [then-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso], not kicking them out, killing! If some innocent people are going to die, fine, in any war innocents die.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>C\u00e2mara Aberta TV program<\/a><\/em>, May 23, 1999<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI will not fight nor discriminate, but if I see two men kissing in the street, I\u2019ll hit them.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013<\/em><\/strong> Folha de S\u00e3o Paulo newspaper<\/a><\/em>, May 19, 2002<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a rapist now. I would never rape you, because you do not deserve it\u2026 slut!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 <\/em><\/strong>Rede TV<\/a><\/em>, speaking to Congresswoman Maria do Ros\u00e1rio, November 11, 2003<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Bolsonaro gives his signature gun finger salute to supporters during a rally in Curitiba, Brazil on March 28, 2018. Photo: Hueler Andrey\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI would be incapable of loving a homosexual child. I\u2019m not going to act like a hypocrite here: I\u2019d rather have my son die in an accident than show up with some mustachioed guy. For me, he would have died.
\n\u2026
\n\u201cIf your son starts acting a little gay, hit him with some leather, and he\u2019ll change his behavior.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Participa\u00e7\u00e3o Popular, TV C\u00e2mara<\/a><\/em>, October 17, 2010<\/em><\/p>\n

Preta Gil, actress and singer: If your son fell in love with a black woman, what would you do?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Preta, I\u2019m not going to discuss promiscuity with whoever it is. I do not run this risk and my children were very well raised and did not live in the type of environment that, unfortunately, you do.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 <\/em><\/strong>CQC, TV Bandeirantes<\/a><\/em>, March 28, 2011<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cIf a homosexual couple comes to live next to me it will devalue my home! If they walk around holding hands and kissing, that devalues it.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Playboy Magazine<\/a>, June 7, 2011<\/em><\/p>\n

Interviewer: Are you proud of the story of Hitler\u2019s life?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, pride, I don\u2019t have, right?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interviewer: Do you like him?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo. What you have to understand is the following: war is war. He was a great strategist.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>CQC, TV Bandeirantes<\/a><\/em>, March 26, 2012<\/em><\/p>\n

Interviewer: Have you ever hit a woman before?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYes. I was a boy in Eldorado, a girl was getting in my face\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Interviewer: Put her against the wall, a few taps? Pah!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, well, no\u2026 [laughs] I\u2019m married. My wife isn\u2019t going to like this response.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>CQC, TV Bandeirantes<\/a><\/em>, March 26, 2012<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201c[Homosexuals] will not find peace. And I have [congressional] immunity to say that I\u2019m homophobic, yes, and very proud of it if it is to defend children in schools.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>TWTV<\/a>, June 5, 2013<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Bolsonaro takes pictures with soldiers during a military event in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 3, 2018. Photo: Nelson Almeida\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI would not employ [a woman] with the same salary [of a man]. But there are many women who are competent.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>SuperPop, RedeTV!<\/a><\/em>, February 15, 2016<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cBeyond Brazil above all, since we are a Christian country, God above everyone! It is not this story, this little story of secular state. It is a Christian state, and if a minority is against it, then move! Let\u2019s make a Brazil for the majorities. Minorities have to bow to the majorities! The Law must exist to defend the majorities. Minorities must fit in or simply disappear!\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Event in Campina Grande, Para\u00edba<\/a><\/em>, February 8, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cViolence is combated with violence.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>The Noite with Danilo Gentili, SBT<\/a>, March 20, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cI went with my three sons. Oh the other one went too, there were four. I have a fifth also. I had four men and on the fifth I had a moment of weakness and a woman came out.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013<\/em><\/strong> Speech at the Hebraica Club, Rio de Janeiro<\/a>, April 3, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cIf I [become president], there won\u2019t be any money for NGOs. These worthless [people] will have to work. If I get there, as far as I\u2019m concerned, every citizen will have a firearm in their home. You will not have a centimeter demarcated for indigenous reserves or quilombolas\u00a0[settlements of the descendants of escaped and freed slaves that have protected status.]\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 <\/em><\/strong>Speech at the Hebraica Club, Rio de Janeiro<\/a><\/em>, April 3, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cHas anyone ever seen a Japanese begging for charity? Because it\u2019s a race that has shame. It\u2019s not like this race that\u2019s down there, or like a minority ruminating here on the side.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Speech at the Hebraica Club, Rio de Janeiro<\/a><\/em>, April 3, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cThe big problem in Brazil is that the government is at the jugular of businessmen. [\u2026] The worker will have to decide: less rights and employment or all the rights and unemployment.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 <\/em><\/strong>Event in Deerfield Beach, FL <\/a><\/em>, October 8, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cI\u2019ll give carte blanche for the police to kill.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Event in Deerfield Beach, FL<\/a>, October 8, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cSince I was single at the time, I used the money from my [congressional] housing stipend to get laid.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>TV Folha<\/a><\/em>, January 11, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cThis group, if they want to stay here, will have to put itself under the law of all of us. Leave or go to jail. These red marginals will be banished from our homeland.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 <\/em><\/strong>Live video address to a rally in S\u00e3o Paulo<\/a><\/em>, October 21, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cYou will not have any more NGOs to quench your leftist hunger. It will be a cleansing never before seen in the history of Brazil.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>Live video address to a rally in S\u00e3o Paulo<\/a>, October 21, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u201cYou will see a proud Armed Forces which will be collaborating with the future of Brazil. You, petralhada\u00a0[a derogatory term for Workers\u2019 Party supporters]\u00a0will see a civilian and military police with a judicial rearguard to enforce the law on your backs.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2013 <\/em><\/strong>Live video address to a rally in S\u00e3o Paulo<\/a><\/em>, October 21, 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

_____________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n

Update, October 28, 2018: <\/strong>This post has been updated with details about the election results and Bolsonaro\u2019s first statement as president-elect.<\/em><\/p>\n

Update, October 28, 2018:<\/strong> This post has been updated with final election results.<\/em><\/p>\n

Related:<\/em><\/p>\n