‘Trumpism’ comes to Brazil?
© Getty Images
Far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday night won Brazil’s presidential election after a divisive and high-stakes race that drew widespread comparisons between him and President Trump.
Bolsonaro won over Fernando Haddad, who replaced former President Luiz Inácio da Silva after he was jailed for corruption and money laundering.
The far-right populist, dubbed “Trump of the Tropics,” had 55.5 percent of the vote with 96 percent voting by Sunday evening in the U.S.
The Brazilian presidential race was marked by massive political infighting and violence, which came to a head when Bolsonaro himself was stabbed in the stomach during a campaign event in September.
Bolsonaro has been fiercely criticized for his incendiary rhetoric that opponents and activists have said is racist, sexist and anti-LGBTQ.
He has previously said he would never want a son who is gay and even suggested parents beat their gay children.
In one widely-circulated clip, Bolsonaro told a female congresswoman, “I would never rape you because you’re not worth it,” then threatened to “slap” her.
A movement of mainly women called “Ele Não,” or “not him” rose up to oppose Bolsonaro in Brazil over the past year. The women marched and demonstrated in highly public displays of opposition to Bolsonaro’s far-right policies and rhetoric…..