The first round of Brazil’s presidential elections took place on 2 October 2022. The result was 43.2% for incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and 48.4% for ex-president (2003–2010) Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva. Given that none of the candidates achieved more than 50%, a final run-off is scheduled for 30 October. Pre-election polls predicted Lula would reach the critical 50% threshold. These polls also projected Bolsonaro would win around 36%. But in the end, his vote share was more than 43%. This result left the world searching for an explanation.
Schlagwort: Brasilien
Democracy on the Razor’s Edge: The 2022 Presidential Elections in Brazil
Brazil’s presidential elections are scheduled to take place on October 2, 2022. The confrontation between the extreme-right incumbent president Bolsonaro and the center-left former president Lula Da Silva provides a rare setting. The election places Brazil at a crossroads and will set the stage for either a comprehensive commitment to democracy under Lula or a continuation along the path to authoritarianism under Bolsonaro. Recent polls suggest that the most likely scenario is a win for Lula. Nevertheless, Brazil’s democratic institutions are continuously under attack. Currently, the possibility of the elections being preemptively cancelled or the final results being contested cannot be fully dismissed.
Bolsonaro gunning at Brazilian democracy
In Brazil, September 7th is Independence Day, traditionally celebrated with civil and military parades in the capital Brazilia and many other cities. What was intended to foster national pride and unity threatens to damage that very unity this year, as President Bolsonaro wants to turn the events into a show of strength signalling his will to win in the 2022 elections by a coup d’état if necessary.
Am seidenen Faden: Das Freihandelsabkommen zwischen der Europäischen Union (EU) und dem Mercosur
Zwanzig Jahre lang wurde das Freihandelsabkommen zwischen der EU und dem Mercosur verhandelt, im Juni 2019 wurde eine Einigung über den Handelsteil erzielt, doch die Ratifizierung lässt auf sich warten und steht aktuell unter keinem guten Stern. Trotz breiter Kritik sind zwar noch letzte Hoffnungsschimmer ersichtlich, insgesamt weisen die aktuellen Entwicklungen jedoch in Richtung des Scheiterns.
Indigenous Peoples’ experiences: Some observations about the new political era in Latin America
In the last five years, Latin America has entered a new political era with indigenous peoples at the center of these changes. The new governments in the region are promoting revisionist policies regarding past state violence and implementing new policies of indigenous dispossession. However, the observable trend denying indigenous peoples their basic rights, and their participation on issues affecting them, is not only an issue of minority politics, it also draws broader fundamental civil rights and liberties into question.
