On October 2, Brazil held its presidential election and statistics show that it is headed for a run-off vote, reports Reuters. Election authorities stated on the day of the election that current right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro was surprisingly outperforming his rival former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva who was initially leading the polls in the days prior to the election.
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Tensions between supporters of the two Brazilian Presidential candidates became deadly on September 9, when a supporter of President Jair Bolsonaro murdered a backer of his challenger, former President Lula ahead of the October 2 election, reports The Guardian.
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Brazil has suffered from numerous devasting mudslides and flash flooding this month, as the death toll rises to 217. Climate experts and meteorologists believe that the source of this influx of flash flooding and landslides has to do with the rapid urbanization in the Rio De Janeiro state, especially areas like the city of Petrópolis, where summer rains are not usually severe, as Al Jazeera reports.
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The presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, the conservative populist who has been president of Brazil since 2016, is under challenge, as opposition protests held across the country this week are calling for his impeachment. According to MercoPress, reports indicate that his support nationwide is dwindling, with national opinion polling placing him in the 22 to 30 percent approval range, with elections being scheduled for next year.
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In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of Brazil overturned the corruption conviction of former two-term President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula), according to BBC News. The conviction was related to the massive anti-corruption investigation known as “Operation Car Wash” that exposed the largest corruption scandal in Latin America. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that Lula’s conviction was invalid because the court he was tried in lacked jurisdiction.
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Brazil and the United States have experienced a rise in anti-establishment protests over the last decade. As leftist groups gained social acceptance in both countries, far-right groups started to emerge. These groups began putting greater pressure on sitting officials to make substantial changes, showing the need for political reform.
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Guinea-Bissau, a small African country that ranks as one of the poorest in the world, has been infiltrated at every level ‒political, economic, social‒ by the illegal drug trade. The country serves as a midpoint in cocaine trafficking routes from Latin America to Europe. Over a decade ago, it was labeled Africa’s “first narco-state.” Last year, Ruth Monteiro, Guinea-Bissau’s Minister of Justice and Human Rights, stated that the country is still a “paradise for drug traffickers,” reports BBC.
Read MoreBrazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Governor of São Paulo João Doria clashed over the implementation of a mandatory coronavirus vaccination of the São Paulo region. Joao Doria is in favor of making CoronaVac, a COVID-19 immunization, mandatory alongside other non-coronavirus vaccines as Brazil requires. Sinovac is a China-based biopharmaceutical company developing the CoronaVac and would conduct phase three trials on the São Paulo citizens, which is favored by Governor Doria, according to the South China Morning Post.
Read MoreMerriam Webster defines fascism as “a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.” It is clear that by this definition, Jair Bolsonaro is a fascist
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While the Brazilian armed forces claim to respect the Brazilian Constitution, interactions with protesters and citizens show their lack of abidance to it.
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