Diplomatist Magazine DIplomatist September 2018 | Page 41

PERSPECTIVE
THE PRELUDE
TO BRAZILIAN
ELECTION; RISE
OF THE BRAZILIAN
TRUMP
BY APARAAJITA PANDEY*
T
he Lava Jato (Car Wash) Scandal, an economic
recession, an impeachment, and a beloved leader put
behind bars; Brazil has been at the receiving end of
a series of unfortunate events for the past few years. The
country hailed as a regional leader and constituting 43 percent
of the total South American landmass today stands at the
precipice of a national election. It is ravaged by corruption
and stands today more divided than it has ever been in the
last three decades. All of the societal, racial, economic, and
religious distinctions of the Brazilian nation that had been
sewed together with affi rmative action and social assistance
schemes have now come apart at the seams and the differences
have become starker than they have been in a long time.
The spillover of the Lava Jato scandal led to not just the
impeachment of the former President Ms. Dilma Rousseff, it
also led most of the Brazilian politicians falling like dominos
as most of them were implicated in corruption cases one after
the other. A recent survey revealed that only 13 percent of
Brazilians had faith in their democracy. As 7 October draws
closer, Brazilians have started displaying their inclination
towards their respective candidates. As racial and economic
cleaves in society have become deeper, the country displays
signs of tilt towards the far right. The inclination towards
the right is by no means a uniquely Brazilian phenomenon;
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 9 • September 2018, Noida • 41