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The US Enjoys A Trade Surplus With Brazil, But Your Coffee Is Gonna Cost You Much More...Why, Children of MAGA?
12 Sep 2025 9:19 am
Over the last decade, the United States and Brazil both confronted illiberal threats. The parallels are striking. Both countries elected presidents with authoritarian instincts who, after losing re-election, went after democratic institutions.
Trump violated the cardinal rule of democracy when he refused to accept defeat in the 2020 election and attempted to overturn the results in a campaign that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
Bolsonaro, a far-right politician elected in 2018, borrowed heavily from Trump’s playbook. Behind in the polls as the 2022 election approached, Bolsonaro began to question the integrity of the electoral process. He repeatedly denounced the electoral authorities and attacked — and tried to eliminate — Brazil’s electronic voting system. He claimed the only way he could lose was through fraud, implying that an opposition victory would be illegitimate.
Ibid.
Trump violated the cardinal rule of democracy when he refused to accept defeat in the 2020 election and attempted to overturn the results in a campaign that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
Bolsonaro, a far-right politician elected in 2018, borrowed heavily from Trump’s playbook. Behind in the polls as the 2022 election approached, Bolsonaro began to question the integrity of the electoral process. He repeatedly denounced the electoral authorities and attacked — and tried to eliminate — Brazil’s electronic voting system. He claimed the only way he could lose was through fraud, implying that an opposition victory would be illegitimate.
Ibid.