Brazil election: Fears of violent crackdown as Bolsonaro poised for victory

Jair Bolsonaro

As Jair Bolsonaro looks set to win the election, fears over violence rise (Image: getty)

In recent weeks Mr Bolsonaro’s supporters have threatened to harm Supreme Court justices and have attacked journalists and opposition voters.

Supporters of Bolsonaro’s main opponent, Fernando Haddad of the Worker’s Party have suffered repeated attacks.

Brazil’s tense political climate has been compared by some to divisions in the United States, where several high-profile opponents of President Donald Trump received pipe bombs in the mail this week.

But, according to analysts, the tension in Brazil is far more perilous as the country already suffers from extreme violence, often without consequence for perpetrators.

Nearly 64,000 murders were registered last year but less than 10 percent of homicide cases result in charges, according to government data.

Mr Bolsonaro himself suffered a near-fatal stabbing during a campaign rally last month.

He is still recovering from the incident which appears to have reinforced his aggressive rhetoric with vows to violently combat crime and pursue graft cases against opponents.

In a video broadcast to supporters at a demonstration last Sunday, Mr Bolsonaro, said: “You PT crew, you’ll have the civil and military police with legal support to bring the law down on your backs.

brazilian election

Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro’s, left, main opponent Fernando Haddid have suffered attacks (Image: getty)

[Mr Bolsonaro] has opened the Pandora’s box on political violence in an already extremely violent country

Rafael Alcadipani

”These delinquent Reds will be banned from our homeland.”

Mr Bolsonaro said that he does not condone violence carried out by his supporters, however, analysts say his aggressive social media presence is taking a toll.

Rafael Alcadipani, a public security expert at the Getulio Vargas Foundation university in Sao Paulo, said that Brazilians are likely to see an increase in violence if Mr Bolsonaro wins. He said: ”Bolsonaro, because of his rhetoric supporting violence and the aggressive manner he has campaigned, has opened the Pandora’s box on political violence in an already extremely violent country.

“If people thought Brazil had extremely high levels of street violence in normal times, imagine what it will be like under a president who aggressively pushes violence among police and against political opponents?”

brazil election

Brazilian Electoral Court staffers prepare electronic ballots (Image: getty)

Meanwhile, Mr Bolsonaro’s attacks on the media over reporting that he calls “fake news” have also sent a chill through newsrooms which have dealt with a surge in threats and physical violence.

Brazilian investigative journalism group Abraji said since January 64 reporters who cover the campaign have been physically attacked and another 82 targeted in online hate campaigns.

By comparison, 40 U.S.-based journalists covering all topics were physically attacked during that period, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker database run by over two dozen press freedom groups.

Mr Bolsonaro’s supporters were blamed for most of the attacks in Brazil, Abraji said, while PT backers were responsible for a smaller fraction.

Folha de S.Paulo, Brazil‘s biggest newspaper, has been flooded with threats, including ones targeting the six-year-old son of a reporter who uncovered alleged illegalities in Mr Bolsonaro campaign’s use of WhatsApp to spread misinformation.

Police are investigating a retired Army colonel who has made repeated threats against Supreme Court judges in widely shared videos, warning them not to rule against Mr Bolsonaro. He has been tagged with an electronic ankle bracelet so authorities can monitor his whereabouts.

Supreme Court Justice Carmen Lucia said the attacks were a threat against democracy, saying this week that “aggressions that target any justice are attacks on the entire court as an institution.”

Mr Bolsonaro, a 63-year-old former army captain, is an ardent supporter of Brazil‘s 1964-85 military regime and cites one of the period’s most notorious torturers, Colonel Carlos Ustra, as a personal hero.

brazil election

Street artists and clowns take part in a demonstration to support Haddad (Image: getty)

brazil election

Around 60,000 Brazillians rallied to show support for Mr Haddad (Image: getty)

As president, he says he would encourage police to kill suspected criminals with abandon. 

He wants to loosen gun controls so civilians can defend themselves.

During one of his campaign rallies, he grabbed a cameraman’s tripod, shouldered it like a rifle and yelled into a microphone that “we are going to gun down all these Workers Party supporters!”

His campaign says his rhetoric simply veers into politically incorrect jokes meant to irritate his leftist presidential rival Fernando Haddad.

jair bolsonaro

Fans of Mr Bolsonaro campaigning at Copacabana beach (Image: getty)

jair bolsonaro

Mr Bolsonaro waves to supporters during a campaign rally Ceilandia (Image: getty)

Mr Bolsonaro has won over tens of millions of Brazilian voters with his inflammatory, anti-establishment stance, citizens who are sick of being the targets of rampant street crime and endemic political corruption he vows to eradicate.

Matheus Ferreira, an 18-year-old food stand vendor in Sao Paulo who hails from a violent favela, a slum, said the tense situation fills him with fear, but not much beyond what he faces daily.

The teenager said: “I will vote for Bolsonaro. 

“If he can make Brazil safer, he would have been worth the risk.”