Aโ Lesson in Accountability: Brazil,Bolsonaro,and the Erosion โof Democratic Norms
Theโข recent legal challengesโฃ faced by former Brazilian โPresident Jair Bolsonaro,and the surprising โsupport he’s received โfrom formerโฃ U.S. President Donald trump, highlight a โcritical divergence in how democratic normsโ are beingโ upheldโ – โor undermined – in theโข two countries. Bolsonaro’s rhetoric and actions following his 2022 electoral defeat,โ coupled with the Brazilian legal system’s response, offer a starkโ contrast to the situation โunfolding in the United โฃStates.
Bolsonaro, like Trump, refused to accept the results of his election loss, falsely claimingโฃ widespreadโค fraud. This โขculminated in aโข violent insurrection in Brasรญlia on January โ8, 2023, mirroring theโค January 6th riot in โขWashington D.C.โ fueled by similar claims โfrom Trump’s supporters.โ Bolsonaro’s alleged role in inciting this unrest is now โขtheโข core of his legal troubles. He even previouslyโค expressed โขa chilling sentiment, stating Brazil would only improve “on theโ dayโ that weโฃ break out in civil war here and do the job that theโ military regime didn’t โdo: killing 30,000.”
Trump has publicly denouncedโ the prosecution of Bolsonaro, labelingโค it a “witch hunt” orchestratedโค to benefit the currentโฃ Brazilian President, Luizโ Inรกcio Lula da Silva, whom he describes asโ a “radical leftist.” However,the political landscapeโค in Brazil is more โnuanced. Lula leads the social-democratic Workers’โข Party,โ while the judge โleading โฃBolsonaro’s prosecution, Chief Justice Alexandre deโข Moraes,โข is affiliated with the center-right PSDB and is known for his strict law-and-order approach.โ De Moraes’ assertive actions were, in part, a response to a perceived lack of enforcement โof the โrule of โlawโข under bolsonaro’s appointed Attorney General. As the โฃauthor suggests, โa parallel in the U.S. โwould be if Chief Justice โJohn Roberts Jr.proactively pursued โคlegal actionโข against a president deemedโข to be flouting the law.
This situation has prompted a degreeโ of envy from someโ observers in the United States. โ Bolsonaro, a leader who attempted to subvert the democratic โprocess through false claims andโฃ incitement to violence, is being held accountable for his actions – both by voters and by the courts.
This accountability is central to a functioning democracy. political scientists distinguish between โ”vertical accountability” – voters holding โคleaders accountable throughโ elections – and “horizontal accountability” – checks โคand balances between coequal branches of government. Leaders like Bolsonaroโฃ attempt to circumvent both, clinging to power despite electoral defeat and underminingโฃ autonomous institutions like courts and agencies. โIn Brazil, however, both forms of accountability prevailed.
Trump’s intervention โin Bolsonaro’s case also underscores โขa missingโข element in the current U.S. governance: the influenceโ of advisors willing to challenge a president’sโข possibly damaging instincts. โ For example, Trump’s recent threat โof high tariffs against Brazil, ostensiblyโ to aid bolsonaro, carries important risks.Such tariffs could exacerbate inflation on essential consumer goods likeโข coffee โฃand orange juice, a politically sensitive issueโ given Trump’sโข focus on controlling inflation in his โ2024 campaign. Furthermore, the use ofโ tariffs in this context undermines the statedโฃ justifications for such measures – protecting U.S. manufacturers or โaddressing tradeโฃ imbalances.
the dynamic reveals a shift in global leadership. Once viewed as aโค model of democratic governance, the United States nowโฃ finds itself observing – and perhaps learning from – Brazil, โคa โฃnation demonstrating the importance of holding leadersโข accountable and upholding the rule of law. โ
(Based on the article by susan โStokes, Professor of Politicalโค Science at the University of Chicago, and Faculty Director โof โขthe Chicagoโ Center on Democracy.)