The 'Unstoppable Rise' Of Jair Bolsonaro Pushes People And Nature Of Brazil To The Edge

In global politics, there are alarming signals coming from all corners—votes tending to favor the populists, hardliners, and autocrats. The latest testing ground is Brazil, with a huge, increasingly divided population and an economy whose stability matters worldwide. 

The presidential elections due at the end of this month will be a watershed. The ballot boxes are challenged by an ultra-populist candidate, Jair Bolsonaro, who openly defends an autocratic, hardliner rule in his country.

An enthusiast for torture and the 1964-85 military dictatorship, the retired army captain is famous for racist, homophobic, authoritarian and misogynistic rhetoric. 

He is rising as the day of approaches. According to a survey quoted by Reuters, the far-right presidential candidate maintained a substantial lead over his leftist rival Fernando Haddad in the second election poll looking at voter intentions for the Oct. 28 run-off vote.

The poll showed that Bolsonaro had 59 percent of voter support, compared to Haddad’s 41 percent. Ibope interviewed 2,506 people on Saturday and Sunday.

The surveys have a chilling effect not only on human rights defenders but also environmentalists. 

No more Paris agreement. No more ministry of environment. A paved highway cutting through the Amazon. Not only that. Indigenous territories opened to mining. Relaxed environmental law enforcement and licensing. International NGOs, such as Greenpeace and WWF, banned from the country. A strong alliance with the beef lobby. In a nutshell, this is what Jair Bolsonaro, who is sailing towards Brazil’s presidency (...) has promised for the environment.

While the political left raise concerns of a coup, the indigenous people of Brazil warn that deforestation and punishment of natives will amount to a genocide.