Brazilians react to the nation's new far-right president-elect
341 views · Published 3 November 2018 · 3:00 · Indexed 9 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(29 Oct 2018) After weeks of uncertainty, Brazilians woke up on Monday with a far-right president-elect. Jair Bolsonaro, a former captain who spent 27 years in the lower house as a congressman, won the presidential elections and will lead the Latin America's largest country for the next four years. In the street, some showed hope about the changes he could bring to the country. "We have passed so many crises, so many robberies in this country and finally the PT (Workers Party) was defeated, and we expect with (Jair) Bolsonaro in power, that Brazil can take a new direction and to become prosper," said Leonardo de Sousa, 35, who works as a receptionist in a company. But for others, the worry is not just the economic crisis but the polarization that the elections left in the society. "We need to hear the elected (politicians) to talk about union, and put an end to the division and the hater speech because if not, we won't overcome the crisis, we won't overcome that polarization that was installed in the last few months," said lawyer Raquel Del Veccio. For political analyst Michael Mohallem Bolsonaro's speech against some groups, such as the LGBT community, blacks, indigenous people and activists brought a feeling of fear in the country. He is sending a message that some groups "should be prosecuted," Mohallem asserted. Mohallem, a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, said it is still not clear what will be Bolsonaro's foreign policy. According to Mohallem, Bolsonaro's attitude is similiar to the one adopted by United States President Donald Trump, ones that reject multilateralism policies and with more sympathy for singing bilateral agreements with countries following the same ideology. The strong presence of militaries in the government brought questions about the possibility of conflicts in the region. "There are more questions and doubts than answers" Mohallem said of the nation's international relations once Bolsonaro takes power. Such is the result of a lack of debate in Brazilian politics, as well as a lack of a proposal from Bolsonaro in the international field. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/e02505738422a5ceefccb81ed1f15160
