Tell me more about what just happened in Brazil.

October 30, 2022 8:05 PM

I have been following on a surface-level the election in Brazil and learned of the new (or rather returning?) leftist President, Lula. Can someone explain more to me what this means? Wasn't he recently in prison for corruption? Was he found innocent? Is this an indication of a wider left-shift for other countries in the region? What has he promised regarding the Amazon? What are his policies and his political agenda for this presidency?

I saw the post on the Blue - but it was mostly a "hurray!" without a link to relevant background. Opinions are welcome - though it would be helpful to have context (i.e. I lived in Brazil for 50 years vs I'm just starting to follow this - both are ok) - but also links to news stories that get deeper than "hey, this thing just happened."

posted by Toddles to Law & Government (9 answers total)

On the corruption angle, this article goes deeper and provides a more balanced analysis than most you will find.
posted by derrinyet at 8:08 PM on October 30, 2022 [2 favorites]

On climate: During Lula's first time in office, deforestation in the Amazon fell by 80%. Under Bolsonaro, it surged again.
A recent analysis by Carbon Brief shows that Lula's victory could bring deforestation down 89% by the end of the decade.
Today's election was crucial for the climate.

I see this as a win for the planet.

(There's lots and lots more; Bolsonaro's odious in my opinion. But I don't have links handy for the horrible stuff on a granular level. Wikipedia's list of his political positions give you a taste of his tendencies.)
posted by Shunra at 8:33 PM on October 30, 2022 [10 favorites]

John Oliver did a large segment on the election back during the first round, it outlines some of the differences between the two candidates. It doesn't touch too much on the corruption of the prior president, but may be worth a quick watch.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:39 PM on October 30, 2022 [4 favorites]

Honest Government ads did one of their satirical truth-telling pieces on the Brazilian election.
posted by Coaticass at 10:22 PM on October 30, 2022 [2 favorites]

Mod note: Just a quick note that the Mefi thread linked in the post has been closed. Here is the new one!
posted by taz (staff) at 4:21 AM on October 31, 2022

The Daily (NYTimes podcast) did an episode on the election a few days ago. I found the description of them as both "populists" a bit annoying, and there were some other false equivalencies I thought they made between the two, but still, it gives a pretty good overview.
posted by coffeecat at 10:14 AM on October 31, 2022

He was not found innocent but a court ruled he was tried in the wrong jurisdiction so was released.
posted by dobbs at 12:01 PM on October 31, 2022

The linked article gives excellent details -

"presidents in Brazil are limited to two successive terms, though not barred from subsequent re-election" so when Lula left in 2010 he appointed/anointed his successor, who was hammered by crises, leading to Bolsonaro

Bolsonaro's Brazil
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 9:26 PM on October 31, 2022

"Trump has endorsed Bolsonaro". The most worrying part... Bolsonaro has NOT yet conceded defeat, and there are fears that he may attempt to pull a Trump-style denial, and possibly a J6 as well.
posted by kschang at 10:38 AM on November 1, 2022