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Brazil: A year of Jair Bolsonaro

Introduction
On 1 January 2019, Jair Bolsonaro was sworn in for a four-year term as the 38th president of Brazil, after winning a divisive election in October 2018.... Read More
The political landscape
An assessment of Bolsonaro’s first year as president cannot be made without first looking at the context in which he was elected in October 2018.... Read More
Throughout his 27 years as a federal deputy in congress, Bolsonaro was a marginal, idiosyncratic figure.... Read More
As well as heading a largely inexperienced cabinet and involving his sons in state affairs, Bolsonaro has worked on altering the executive’s relationship with congress.... Read More
Kick-starting the economy
Addressing Brazil’s economic travails and the government’s widening fiscal deficit was going to be a necessity for whoever won the presidency.... Read More
Pension reform... Read More
Like pension reform, the government’s plans for privatisation are fairly unpopular with the electorate but meet with enthusiasm from the business sector.... Read More
For all the market optimism that met Bolsonaro’s election in late 2018, there were those who sounded cautionary notes.... Read More
Tackling corruption
Following the emergence of large-scale corruption scandals implicating Brazil’s political and business elites, brought to light through the sprawling ‘Lava Jato’ (Car Wash) investigation, the PT became synonymous with corruption in the eyes of many.... Read More
Since 2014, the visible face of Brazil’s anti-corruption crusade has been Sérgio Moro, who as a federal judge on the Lava Jato investigation put political and business big shots behind bars and attained hero-like status for many Brazilians.... Read More
Bolsonaro has not only failed to credibly deliver progress in the fight against corruption, but actually overseen a number of setbacks in this area during his first year in office.... Read More
Added to these concerns has been the emergence of suspicions of wrongdoing amongst Bolsonaro’s political and personal allies.... Read More
Reducing insecurity
Violence in Brazil has been steadily rising over the past decade.... Read More
A reflection of this unclear programme, legislation has been slow to follow the campaign promises.... Read More
The Bolsonaro government can therefore not credibly claim success where its public security legislative agenda is concerned.... Read More
A moral agenda
Bolsonaro’s assurances on the economy, corruption and violent crime were a direct response to Brazil’s biggest problems.... Read More
One of the principal criticisms that Bolsonaro levies at the leftist PT administrations that preceded him is their ideologisation of government agendas.... Read More
Some might argue that the concerns that followed Bolsonaro’s election over his authoritarian tendencies and inflammatory language were overblown.... Read More
Conclusion
In December 2019, Bolsonaro’s approval ratings stood at 30%, largely unchanged over the course of the year.... Read More

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