The 2018 Election Issues In Brazil

Gaining independence in 1822, the Federative Republic of Brazil is a Federal Presidential Republic and will hold an election in October of 2018 to elect the Chief of State and head of government, the president.

After the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, his vice president, now President Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia took over August 31, 2016. On Friday October 26, 2018 Brazilians directly elect a new president by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed for a single 4-year term (eligible for a second). Suffrage in Brazil is voluntary ages 16 through 18, over 70, and if illiterate, but compulsory ages 18 through 70 (The World Factbook). Candidacy is only allowed if officially presented by a registered political party. Parties then choose their candidates in municipal, state, or national conventions. No write-in candidacies are allowed. Although direct, Brazil’s electoral system is flawed, allowing Presidential candidates and party leaders to enclose themselves from their parties, diminishing the credibility mechanism. The President is elected through a majority run-off system, which creates a very personality-based electoral campaign.

This year’s top candidates are no one’s favorites and they are seemingly a cast of actors. More than a quarter of voters are undecided, an abnormally large portion so close to the first round October 7th; 31% say they might blemish their ballots or leave them blank. The front runner, Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right congressman who has made a career of insulting gays, women and black people, praising the dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985 and advocating violent suppression as the most effective way to fight offense. As said last year, his running mate claims a military coup could solve the country’s political crisis. In addition, Bolsonaro was recently stabbed at a rally, leaving him in bad condition and in need of immediate surgery. His most serious competition is a leftist politician and academic, Fernando Haddad, who is backed by the popular former President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva; Lula is serving a 12-year prison sentence on corruption charges and withdrew from the race last month. Lagging behind is Geraldo Alckmin, a centrist former governor of the state of São Paulo, who has run for president once before, in 2006.

A major issue under debate in the election is the economic recession. In recent years, the economy has careened off course, in large part because corruption scandals have decimated the country’s most powerful companies, putting huge swaths of people out of work and weakening investor confidence. Nearly a third of Brazilians have struggled to buy food in the past year, and a quarter say they’ve had trouble affording adequate shelter. The unemployment rate is in the double digits, and some studies say extreme poverty has more than doubled since the mid-2010s.

Another major issue is that of a serious security crisis. Murder rates are at an all-time high. The country’s biggest gang, Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) is rapidly expanding as it battles with rivals over important drug routes. Once-vaunted public safety strategies have failed to contain the mayhem, but there’s little consensus on how to change course. A change in leadership will likely mean a shift in current policy, and Bolsonaro has made safety and security a focus of his campaign, but has a less clear stance on the recession.