Catharsis #1: Beatriz Buarque on Bolsonaro victory

October 29, 2018
by

by Eoin Higgins, special to the Greylock Glass

In this launch episode of our newest podcast, Catharsis, Eoin Higgins hears from Brazilian journalist Beatriz Buarque about Jair Bolsonaro’s once-unthinkable victory in Brazil’s runoff election on Sunday, October 28. Editor Jason Velázquez joins the conversation and welcomes Eoin to the Greylock Glass.

President Elect Jair Bolsonaro; photo by Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom/ Agencia Brasil; [CC BY 2.0]; via Wikimedia Commons

Hello, this is Eoin.

My guest is journalist Beatriz Buarque, who spoke to the show via Skype from Brazil’s capitol city, Brasilia, in the nation’s Federal District. We discuss the results of Brazil’s general election held yesterday, which has many in the country worried that the democratic gains of the past three decades could be erased by the ascent of a former captain in the country’s military dictatorship to the head of government.

Extreme right candidate Jair Bolsonaro clinched the presidency with a little over 55% of the vote. Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad, who replaced Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the ticket after the former president was convicted of corruption charges, the validity of which many in the country question, made significant gains in the last weeks of the campaign, but could not persevere against a tide of nationalism fueled by a stagnant economy and rising crime.

Beatriz Buarque — Words Heal the World

Beatriz Buarque; submitted photo.
Beatriz Buarque; submitted photo.

Beatriz Buarque is the founding director of international anti-extremist organizations Words Heal the World, which organizes and trains students and other to respond to the presence of hatred and intolerance that they witness or experience through positive communication in ways  that have real impact personally and throughout their communities.

Eoin Higgins
Eoin Higgins

Eoin Higgins is a writer and historian from western Massachusetts.

Previous Story

TLC #68: 2020 Regional Transportation Plan

Next Story

Life and Death in a Backyard

Latest from Catharsis