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Elections and chaos
2018.10.03 20:23:25 CEST
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If you are Brazilian, have Brazilian friends, spouse or relatives
then you definitely know about the upcoming presidential election in
Brazil. The situation is so chaotic that you barely hear about the
state government or Congress elections (held on the same day).
If you thought Clinton vs. Trump was a shit-show, you have no idea
how bad things are right now in Brazil. There are a lot more
candidates, but at the moment (3 days until election) it seems the
race will be decided between Bolsonaro (a right-wing conservative
candidate) and Haddad (a center-left candidate).
Here are the problems: Bolsonaro is accused to be homophobic,
racist, misogynist and bigoted, besides supporting a harder law and
order approach to criminality, and praising the military
dictatorship (which was known to be very violent and oppressive, as
usual).
Haddad on the other hand is from the Worker's Party, who is still
attached to the former president (and now inmate after being
sentenced to jail due to corruption) Lula. Many members of his party
have stated they wish to disrupt the judiciary to free the former
president and display very authoritarian attitudes (against the
press and I would say even more authoritarian than the right wing
opponent).
So there is no good choice. Some people have compared the situation
to having to pick between HIV or terminal cancer. The population is
divided and there is no one trying to bridge the divide - both
candidates are actually betting on the polarization getting worse.
I've heard from multiple friends that they cannot have conversations
with other people who have a different opinion than they do,
including family members.
Honestly, I don't think either of the candidates is as evil as their
opposition paints them to be. Sure, they are barking a lot, but the
political system in Brazil makes their action dependent on having
majority in Congress, so no biting. Neither of them have a clear plan
on how to handle the current economical, political and social crisis,
after all they are profiting from it. So I also don't think either
will improve the country directly.
What I'm considering now are the indirect side-effects of electing
one or the other. And I still haven't made up my mind.
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