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AUTHORITARIANISM CANDIDATES DEMOCRACY ELECTION 2018 FASCISM FEMINISM

Bolsonaro says he won’t respect electoral defeat

On the eve of the #EleNão protests, as military police raid communist party headquarters across Minas Gerais, neo-fascist candidate Jair Bolsonaro tells reporter he will not respect the election results unless he wins. He is currently trailing PT candidate Fernando Haddad by 6% in the polls for the final round.

by Brian Mier

Speaking to sensationalist crime reporter Datena, from his hospital bed in the elite Albert Einstein Hospital, where he is expected to be released tomorrow, neo-fascist candidate Jair Bolsonaro said, “Whether the military institutions will accept the result or not is up to the military commanders. But from what I see on the streets, I will not accept any election results that do not declare me the winner. My mind is made up about this.”

This marks the first time since the return to democracy in 1989 that any candidate has threatened to abandon the democratic process. During another moment in the interview he said that if the PT party takes over, the military will intervene the first time it makes a mistake. “We, of the armed forces, are the guarantors of the Constitution,” he said, in a statement that is factually incorrect on two counts – neither is Bolsonaro an active member of the armed forces, nor is the military legally attributed with the role of guaranteeing the 1988 Constitution.

These comments came amidst a wave of new corruption allegations against the openly racist and misogynist candidate. Earlier in the week, his ex-wife accused him of robbing R$800,000 from a safety deposit box in the Banco do Brasil and threatening to kill her, and R$2.6 million in Rio de Janeiro properties that were not declared to the electoral courts were discovered registered in his name.

Bolsonaro’s comments come during a period in which repression against the left is on the rise and the military is testing its power. Brazilian general Etchegoyen now oversees 16 government agencies, including intelligence and the Federal Police, and the Military has been in control of Rio de Janeiro’s state security apparatus for 7 months.

Also on Friday, September 28th, the Minas Gerais military police raided Brazilian communist party (PC do B) headquarters across the state looking of electoral propaganda with Lula’s image on it, with a blanket search warrant which gave them authority to break doors, cabinets and furniture and arrest anyone who resisted.

Military Police raid communist party campaign headquarters in Minas Gerais
Military Police raid communist party campaign headquarters in Minas Gerais

Both Bolsonaro’s comments and the police suppression of the Communist Party came on the eve of what promises to be the largest protest in Brazil since 2013, as women across the country and in 60 countries abroad will demonstrate against Jair Bolsonaro and his promotion of rape culture in the #EleNão campaign.

In an Instagram post seen by millions yesterday, Madonna expressed her solidarity with the campaign. In the social media networks, Bolsonaro followers immediately accused called her a communist and accused  her of doing it out of a desire for “15 minutes of fame”.

Madonna's Instagram post in solidarity with the #EleNão movement
Madonna’s Instagram post in solidarity with the #EleNão movement

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By Brian Mier

Writer, geographer and former development professional who has lived in Brazil for 26 years. Former directorate member of the Fórum Nacional de Reforma Urbana (National Urban Reform Forum). Has lived in São Luis, Recife, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Author of “Os Megaeventos Esportivos na Cidade do Rio de Janeiro e o Direito á Cidade” (CEPR: Porto Alegre. 2016). Editor of "Voices of the Brazilian Left" (Sumare: São Paulo. 2018). Editor of "Year of Lead: Washington, Wall Street and the New Imperialism in Brazil" ((Sumare: São Paulo. 2019) Irregular correspondent for the Chicago radio show This is Hell.