The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Disgraced ex-minister's daughter says she feels proud, qualified as a doctor

  • 3

    Coupang reveals Asia's largest fulfillment center in Daegu

  • 5

    'Celebrity forests' emerge as new K-pop trend in Seoul

  • 7

    Ex-gov't employee summarily indicted for alleged attempt to sell Jungkook's lost hat

  • 9

    Netflix survival show 'Physical 100' attracts viewers with sweat, muscle and human story

  • 11

    Peak Time: Survival show for lesser-known K-pop boy bands to hit air

  • 13

    Korean Peninsula may face fallout from balloon saga

  • 15

    Seoul narrows in on new slogan

  • 17

    SM founder Lee Soo-man returns home, in hospital to treat arm fracture

  • 19

    Korea to allow currency trading by offshore firms, extend market hours

  • 2

    Singer Lee Seung-gi to marry actor Lee Da-in in April

  • 4

    SM in internal feud over founder's exit from producing

  • 6

    Tiger endures 3 years of solitary confinement in closed zoo

  • 8

    Seoul city zeroes in on foreign residents' unpaid taxes

  • 10

    Rescuers race against time as Turkey-Syria quake death toll passes 5,000

  • 12

    Ex-justice minister, daughter blamed for unrepentant attitude over academic fraud

  • 14

    INTERVIEW'Korea, US can create synergy in space industry': NASA ambassador

  • 16

    Apple confirms launch of Apple Pay in Korea

  • 18

    Chainsaw Fest set to rip apart Club SHARP

  • 20

    Korea opens metaverse platform for Korean-language learning

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Yun Byung-se
  • Kim Won-soo
  • Ahn Ho-young
  • Kim Sang-woo
  • Lee Kyung-hwa
  • Mitch Shin
  • Peter S. Kim
  • Daniel Shin
  • Jeon Su-mi
  • Jang Daul
  • Song Kyung-jin
  • Park Jung-won
  • Cho Hee-kyoung
  • Park Chong-hoon
  • Kim Sung-woo
  • Donald Kirk
  • John Burton
  • Robert D. Atkinson
  • Mark Peterson
  • Eugene Lee
  • Rushan Ziatdinov
  • Lee Jong-eun
  • Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho
  • Bernhard J. Seliger
  • Imran Khalid
  • Troy Stangarone
  • Jason Lim
  • Casey Lartigue, Jr.
  • Bernard Rowan
  • Steven L. Shields
  • Deauwand Myers
  • John J. Metzler
  • Andrew Hammond
  • Sandip Kumar Mishra
Thu, February 9, 2023 | 05:35
Imran Khalid
After victory, Lula faces massive challenges
Posted : 2022-11-14 14:26
Updated : 2022-11-14 14:26
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link

By Imran Khalid

Jair Bolsonaro, a typical populist leader, was not expected to cool down so quickly after his defeat in the second round of the Brazilian presidential elections. It was being anticipated that he would not accept his defeat calmly and that his supporters would resort to a massively violent agitation.

Ever since the second round of presidential election campaign was kicked off, sensing his possible defeat, Bolsonaro had been talking about possible fraudulent manipulations by his opponents to keep him from retaining the top slot. Bolsonaro has repeatedly sought to cast doubt on the integrity of Brazil's electoral process and made unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the electronic voting system and questioned the validity of opinion polls that have consistently placed him in second place.

Brazilians were expecting a sudden eruption of violence just after the elections results, but surprisingly, despite countrywide protests by the Bolsonaristas and workers of the conservative Liberal Party (PL) who practically paralyzed the country with roadblocks and processions, the protest campaign did not acquire the intensity to be classified as violent.

Bolsonaro, whose role model is Donald Trump, repeatedly bragged about being "unflappable" during his campaign days, and though he has not yet customarily accepted his defeat and congratulated his opponent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, he has made up his mind, it seems, to accept the reality and prepare himself to assume the role of a fierce opposition leader with the 2026 elections in mind.

Bolsonaro appealed to all his supporter truckers, who had blocked the roads across the country after his defeat, to clear the roads. This move signals a change in his game plan. A day earlier, he also reportedly threw in the towel by telling the members of the Supreme Court: "It's over."

The election results, however, show that Bolsonaro lost with a very thin margin, and that he still commands formidable popularity. The leftist president-elect, popularly known as Lula, came out on top with 50.9 percent of the vote, while the rightwing incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, got 49.1 percent of the vote. So, there is very thin difference between the two, and Bolsonaro has the advantage of being able to use his formidable propaganda machinery to unsettle Lula's presidency in the coming days.

A former army captain and congressman, Bolsonaro won the 2018 presidential election campaigning as a right-wing, socially conservative nationalist. He pledged to control crime and corruption and boost economic growth. However, his tenure has been laced with many controversial decisions, including cutting funding for federal education, relaxing gun ownership laws, and weakening LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights.

During his term in office, Bolsonaro has earned the nickname, "Captain Chainsaw," as deforestation in the Amazon surpassed historic records and has also drawn international criticism for his treatment of Indigenous communities, as well as for his management of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 680,000 people in Brazil. But despite such a dismal performance, he has been able to give Lula the toughest electoral competition of his political career by obtaining 51 million votes, two million more than in the first round of the 2018 presidential election.

In the parliamentary and gubernatorial elections, which also took place on Oct. 2, the right-wing parties and, in particular, the far right, performed much better than forecasts showed. They won more representatives in the two houses of parliament than Lula's Workers' Party (PT) and its allies. Now this will create huge problems for Lula in passing his desired legislation to implement his agenda. Bolsonaro's conservative party has demonstrated an unexpected performance in the congressional elections, gaining at least seven additional seats and earning a majority.

That would certainly encourage the Bolsonaristas to generate momentum and make it more difficult for Lula to implement leftist policies. A conservative-majority parliament will certainly dissuade Lula from implementing his progressive agenda; a persistent headache is waiting for Lula in the coming days. This situation corroborates that the extreme right is definitely very strong across Brazil.

On the other hand, Lula tried to present himself as a Brazilian Biden to muffle Bolsonaro's Trumpist model. He adopted a different campaign theme and avoided any clash with the elites ― despite his pro-poor rhetoric. This time around, Lula projected himself as the candidate of the system to expunge "outsider" Bolsonaro.

He formulated an extraordinarily broad front, almost all of the entire left opposition, but also cobbled together a club of representatives of economic power from various sectors, including social democrats, conservative liberals, former bureaucrats and others. He clearly disconnected from street mobilizations or sharp factionalism. Throughout the campaign, he carefully nurtured an image as a sincere promoter of peace, indicating the need to resolve the conflicts that are aggravating divisions between different social segments.

The positive thing is that, despite Bolsonaro's incitement and heightened specter of violence, it is unlikely that the military will intervene. Clear signals are emanating from the army's top brass that they will remain neutral and won't take sides. At the same time, the international community, which is already wary of Bolsonaro's populist belligerence in the domain of foreign policy, will surely discourage any anti-democratic ventures in Brazil.

In view of the dominance of the right in parliament, it will be difficult for Lula to push through progressive policies. Lula's PT and its supporters will face a radicalized and armed opposition from the extreme right under the leadership of a wounded Bolsonaro, who is committed to defending "true Christianity," "family values" and traditional gender roles. The only plausible solution to the deep economic ― and now political ― crisis that Brazil has plunged into in the last decade could be a Brazilian New Deal that encompasses much-needed structural changes in labor law and the market, encourages the contributing role of minorities and sticks to the centrality of the global environmental agenda.

Lula is a seasoned and pragmatic politician, and he also understands that Brazil desperately needs reconciliation ― as evident by his strict instructions to his supporters to avoid physical clashes with the opponents and rather downplay the "red color" traditionally used for the branding of his party. In order to break the spell of extreme political polarization in Brazil, Lula should act as a bridge between polarized segments of the society. He has the capacity and political will to do so, but he also needs a supportive parliament, which is perhaps the trickiest part of the whole equation.


Dr. Imran Khalid (immhza6@gmail.com) is a freelance contributor based in Karachi, Pakistan.


 
Top 10 Stories
1Korean Peninsula may face fallout from balloon sagaKorean Peninsula may face fallout from balloon saga
2Turkey-Syria earthquake Turkey-Syria earthquake
3[INTERVIEW] 'Growth slowdown can accelerate depletion of retirement pension fund' INTERVIEW'Growth slowdown can accelerate depletion of retirement pension fund'
4Daughter-centered photos, title of honor reinforce speculation over North Korea succession Daughter-centered photos, title of honor reinforce speculation over North Korea succession
5SM6 Feel attracts customers with popular options, low price SM6 Feel attracts customers with popular options, low price
6SM's management dispute to benefit KakaoSM's management dispute to benefit Kakao
7[INTERVIEW] Veteran US photographer gives environment 'visual voice' to chronicle climate change INTERVIEWVeteran US photographer gives environment 'visual voice' to chronicle climate change
8Philip Morris seeks to surpass KT&G in e-cigarette market Philip Morris seeks to surpass KT&G in e-cigarette market
9National Assembly votes to impeach interior minister for Itaewon tragedyNational Assembly votes to impeach interior minister for Itaewon tragedy
10Korean companies move to support victims in earthquake-hit Turkey, SyriaKorean companies move to support victims in earthquake-hit Turkey, Syria
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Decoding success factors of NewJeans: How is it different? Decoding success factors of NewJeans: How is it different?
2SM in internal feud over founder's exit from producing SM in internal feud over founder's exit from producing
3The Boyz member Hyunjae apologizes for wearing hat with Rising Sun flag design The Boyz member Hyunjae apologizes for wearing hat with Rising Sun flag design
4Peak Time: Survival show for lesser-known K-pop boy bands to hit air Peak Time: Survival show for lesser-known K-pop boy bands to hit air
5K-pop stars and dating K-pop stars and dating
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group