A second term for Jair Bolsonaro would represent a threat to science, democracy and the environment.
A populist and a former army captain, Bolsonaro charged into office denying science, threatening Indigenous peoples’ rights, promoting guns as a solution to security concerns and pushing a development-at-all-costs approach to the economy. Bolsonaro has been true to his word.for science, the environment, the people of Brazil — and the world.
This weekend, Brazilians will go to the polls in the second round of one of the country’s most important elections since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985. Bolsonaro is standing for re-election for the Liberal Party. His opponent is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Workers’ Party leader who was president for two terms between 2003 and 2010. In the first round of the election, held on 2 October, Lula beat Bolsonaro into second place, but by an unexpectedly narrow margin.
Like his populist former US counterpart Donald Trump, Bolsonaro ignored scientists’ warnings about COVID-19 and denied the dangers of the disease. Bolsonaro also undermined vaccine programmes, questioning the safety and effectiveness of the jabs. More than 685,000 people in Brazil have died from COVID-19. TheOther similarities have been drawn between Trump and Bolsonaro — both have sought to undermine the rule of law and slash the powers of regulators.