Brazil's Besieged Democracy
Although Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has abandoned his previous campaign promises and woefully mismanaged the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he has managed to give the country's generals, who last ruled in the 1980s, a fresh taste of power. The 2022 election will thus be a decisive moment for the country.
SÃO PAULO – A mere 36 years after its exit from dictatorship, Brazil is teetering at the brink of an authoritarian abyss. The year ahead will show whether the country’s still-young democratic institutions can withstand an all-out assault from a populist president who seems determined to remain in power by any means.