2018 was a busy year. Between a flurry of super moons, school shootings, Russian agents, and royal weddings, there was the rise and eventual election of Brazilian politician Jair Bolsonaro – a man both criticized and loved for his seemingly far-right views. Bolsonaro is an outspoken advocate of traditional conservative life as well as a supporter the Amazon’s exploitation. He’s been labeled as both a nationalist and a fascist. However, almost one year on from his initial election, raises the question, how did Jair Balsonaro gain such huge political and social influence? And how can we see other examples of such events occurring across the world?

On October 28th, 2018, Jair Balsonaro won the Brazilian democratic election with 55.1% of the vote. His election, while initially shaky, was deemed extremely successful. The aftermath of Donald Trump’s election and general media criticism of far-right made the rise of another big conservative politician seem unlikely to the outsiders, but Bolsonaro knew his target voters. He was strategic, zoning in on Brazilians who had grown tired of the status quo, huge political corruption scandals, and did not feel fully represented within the parties available. However, while the majority of citizens voted for Balsonaro, he does not represent the views of everyone.

Throughout his life, Bolsonaro has drifted in and out of the media’s eye; yet was constant throughout the political stratosphere of Brazilian politics. In the 80s he first came to media attention when he advocated for higher wages for those in the military, causing him to gain a small following from military personnel and their families despite being scolded by his superiors.

Years later, he was accused of planning to plant bombs in the military base of Rio de Janeiro but was soon acquitted by a general in the Brazilian supreme court. Bolsonaro then delved into politics, pushing forward his conservative and often nationalistic views. He joined the Christian Democratic Party and continued from 1991 to 2018 until the CDP merged with the Democratic Social Party. Meanwhile, Trump was elected as president of the United States, Marine Le Pen gained a huge foothold in France, and nationalist parties have seemingly grown in influence in even the most ‘liberal’ of countries. Spain is experiencing this with the Vox party and Finland as well with the Finns Party. This phenomenon seems to be growing at an alarming rate— but what is actually going on?

Bolsonaro represents values. Whether good or bad, he represents them to the people of Brazil.

He taps into groups of people yearning for change and upheaval, tired of increasing violence in Brazilian streets and intimidated by sudden shifts in social and family values within a traditionally Catholic country. His views are dangerous and divisive, but they are also clear—it’s us versus them. He does not tiptoe around certain topics that may be deemed controversial— he is against homosexuality and secularism, but he believes in gun rights.

Bolsonaro’s supporters may argue what he is doing, whether good or bad, is at least something. This seems attractive to his voters, who have seen the previous workers party take Brazil’s economy from boom to bust. However, Bolsonaro seems to be quieter on other topics such as economic management and has contradicted himself many times. For example, he has expressed an interest in privatizing national sectors, yet has also admitted this may cause them to be bought by foreign companies. This may cause Brazil to lose money and remove opportunities for Brazilian people.

Using big and bold statements on controversial social policies, such as saying Brazil should not become a “gay paradise”, Bolsonaro distracts people with just the right amount of smoke and mirrors, so that his indecisive and potentially devastating economic policies are simply ignored by a majority of his voters. The media focuses on these controversial statements as it brings them traffic, and many people become blindsided to the president he truly is, and what he is willing to actually bring to the country. It sounds eerily familiar.

“She does not deserve to be raped because she is very bad, because she is very ugly” Jair Bolsonaro 2014

Jair Bolsonaro is not the reason why everything is wrong with the world. He definitely did not cause the rise of the far-right political groups. Instead, he acts as more of an effect of such occurrences— a symptom of a worrying yet increasing trend that is currently being seen across the Western and ‘modern’ world: the rise of the far-right.

Whether it is an increase in hate crimes or the popularity of nationalists (despite mainstream condemnation), the far-right and their conservative counterparts seem to be gaining a huge foothold in the world of Western politics. The Nordic Model, comprising of the economic and social policies, has been gaining attention since the second world war and has long caused the Nordic countries to be seen as a kind of liberal, left-wing, socialist utopia.

But in a world of melting pots, cultural diversity, and togetherness – why are the happiest, most adjusted countries such as Sweden, Finland, and even Denmark seeing an unprecedented rise in nationalist parties? It may be due to the fact that people are starting to resent mainstream media, and therefore forming localized echo chambers to spout their far-right views. They may be scared, in such heavily left-leaning countries, to share their thoughts and feelings on topics such as nativism, or tired of the unreliable reporting that occurs.

These echo chambers, once small and not very dangerous, are now raising red flags. The Danish People’s party, a far-right and populist group, gained a foothold of 21% in Denmark. This is a worrying occurrence and one that seems to be increasing. In Finland, the nationalist group, The Finns, came within a 0.2% margin of the left-wing social democratic party—an incredible victory for them, however a scary reality for some. Their plans opposed immigration and rejected ambitious policies aimed to combat climate change. Which has mirrored recent events of Jair Balsonaro, who has come under intense heat due to the large fires occurring in the rainforest and his sub-par response.

Ultimately, this is when capitalistic and cloudy economic policies, popularized with an almost commercialized degree of controversy, merge with our society. Far-right groups are not for the people, and they are definitely not for you. They use divisive language to exploit vulnerable yet eligible voters and tap into a selfish part in all of us that yearns for validation and approval. But pay no attention to them, they are for themselves. No one cares what side you’re on when all our houses are burning down to the ground.

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