Q11 Just the important stuf

Bolsonaro’s populist style

Strongman persona; speaks as voice of “real Brazilians”; anti-elite rhetoric

Post-truth politics

Dismissed COVID as “little flu”; rejected experts; promoted misinformation

Fear-based mobilisation

Used fears of crime, communism, LGBTQ+ rights, and corruption

Punitive rhetoric

“A good criminal is a dead criminal”

Attacks on democratic norms

Attacked Supreme Court and electoral system; questioned voting machines

Simple/magical solutions

Arm citizens to stop crime; exploit Amazon for growth

Illiberal erosion

Weakened institutions without direct coup

Military nostalgia

Normalised military role in politics; praised dictatorship era

Fiscal contradiction

Ran on free-market economics, then expanded welfare before election

Amazon policy

Deforestation rose sharply; weakened environmental agencies

COVID governance

Denialism contributed to one of world’s highest COVID death tolls

January 8, 2023

Supporters stormed Congress/Supreme Court; parallel to January 6 US Capitol attack

Regional impact

Encouraged right-wing populism and authoritarian nostalgia in Latin America

Populist international

Aligned with Trump and Orbán; populists legitimise each other globally

Climate consequences

Amazon destruction weakened global climate efforts and Paris Agreement

EU-Mercosur impact

Europe refused trade deal ratification due to Amazon destruction

China contradiction

Anti-China rhetoric despite China being Brazil’s biggest trade partner

Core thesis

Bolsonaro shows populism is a political style built on anti-elite rhetoric, institutional erosion, and polarisation

Key democracy argument

Democratic backsliding happens gradually through weakening institutions, not only coups

Key geopolitical argument

Populism has global consequences through climate damage, trade disruption, and weakened democratic norms