Warming Back Up to Democracy? Democratic Thermostatics and Brazil’s 2022 Presidential Election
Posted inInstitutional Politics

Warming Back Up to Democracy? Democratic Thermostatics and Brazil’s 2022 Presidential Election

Latin American presidents get re-elected at extremely high rates. Yet incumbent Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro finds himself in a dogfight against his rival, former president Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, in October’s presidential electoral contest. Why? The pandemic, the economy, and environmental policy may be partially to blame. But could...
August 10, 2022Posted inInstitutional, Politics
Posted inInstitutional Politics

Threats to the Freedom of Information Act on its Tenth Birthday

[Today's post is a translation of an op-ed that appeared in the Folha de S. Paulo] Organizational secrecy constitutes the first refuge of corruption, incompetence, and inefficiency. In this sense, perhaps the single most important advantage that democracies have over other forms of government is their ability to limit secrecy...
May 16, 2022Posted inInstitutional, Politics
Bolsonaro’s Increasing Electoral Mischief
Posted inInstitutional Judiciary Politics

Bolsonaro’s Increasing Electoral Mischief

In their influential 2018 book “How Democracies Die” Levitsky and Ziblatt argued that rather than staging an open coup, modern leaders may subvert the democratic process by repeatedly undermining institutions. In the runup to the October election, Bolsonaro appears to be following their script closely, and his electoral mischief continues...
May 11, 2022Posted inInstitutional, Judiciary, Politics1 Comment
The Brazilian Environment on Trial
Posted inEnvironment Judiciary Politics

The Brazilian Environment on Trial

Since the beginning of the Bolsonaro administration, Brazil has experienced numerous environmental disasters, including the rupture of a tailings dam in Minas Gerais, wide-reaching oil spills on the northeastern coast, and a sharp increase in wildfires throughout the Amazon rainforest and the Pantanal wetlands.  International perceptions of Brazil's environmental performance have also...
April 15, 2022Posted inEnvironment, Judiciary, Politics
China’s Campaign for Brazilian Hearts
Posted inForeign Policy Politics

China’s Campaign for Brazilian Hearts

China's cultural influence in Latin America remains understudied. While there are many good analyses of its rising economic heft in the Western Hemisphere, our understanding of China’s public diplomacy efforts and its cultural outreach is incipient. With the aim of beginning to address this gap, American University's Center for Latin American...
March 18, 2022Posted inForeign Policy, Politics
Splintering Parties and the Governance Challenge
Posted inPolitics

Splintering Parties and the Governance Challenge

The hyperfragmentation of the Brazilian party system is unparalleled. The party system has splintered repeatedly over the years, with 24 parties currently represented in the lower house of Congress and 33 parties registered at the electoral court at last count. The effective number of parliamentary parties – a standard measure of parties to seats – has...
January 18, 2022Posted inPolitics
Hunger, Pandemic, and Politics
Posted inEconomics Politics Social

Hunger, Pandemic, and Politics

Hunger is not a new challenge for many Brazilians. But the problem has been heightened during the COVID pandemic. In Heliópolis, São Paulo’s largest favela, pre-pandemic food lines might have attracted three hundred people; now, that number has more than tripled. Brazil has re-entered the World Food Programme’s Hunger Map this year...
November 9, 2021Posted inEconomics, Politics, Social
Lula and the Politics of Racial Reclassification in Brazil
Posted inPolitics Social

Lula and the Politics of Racial Reclassification in Brazil

Brazil’s 2022 presidential contest is one of the most anticipated elections since the return to democracy. It will be particularly interesting to see how the leading candidates address race, racism, and the effects of Brazil’s overlapping political, economic, health, and environmental crises on citizens of Afro-Brazilian descent.  Former president Luiz...
September 28, 2021Posted inPolitics, Social11 Comments
Is There Public Support for the Brazilian Supreme Court in a Time of Crisis?
Posted inInstitutional Judiciary Politics

Is There Public Support for the Brazilian Supreme Court in a Time of Crisis?

The political crisis in Brazil has escalated in recent weeks, and increasingly put the Supreme Court (STF) in the crosshairs of the President. In early August 2021, the Supreme Court (STF) responded to a request by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to investigate Jair Bolsonaro for disseminating fake news about the use...
September 21, 2021Posted inInstitutional, Judiciary, Politics