The Americas | A long shadow

Jair Bolsonaro still shapes Brazil’s political right

Would-be successors are pandering to his fans

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro greets supporters.
Photograph: Reuters
|São Paulo

ON OCTOBER 6TH voters across Brazil will go to the polls to select more than 5,500 mayors and tens of thousands of city councillors (second-round run-offs will follow at the end of the month). The gigantic municipal vote provides a barometer of sorts for the next presidential election, which is due in 2026. Signs in the run-up are unsettling. Two years after Brazilians booted out Jair Bolsonaro, their inept and dangerous former president, right-wing politics remains in his thrall. An acolyte—or perhaps an imitator—could return Mr Bolsonaro’s movement to power.

Explore more

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “A long shadow”

From the October 5th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

Uruguay's centre-left presidential candidate Yamandu Orsi.

Is Uruguay too stable for its own good?

The new president must deal with serious problems with growth, education and crime

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to members of the media.

Bolsonaro’s bid to regain Brazil’s presidency may end in prison

Brazilian police have accused some of his backers of involvement not just in a coup, but in an assassination plot


A worker holds a salmon inside a salmon hatchery in Puerto Montt, Chile.

The mafia’s latest bonanza: salmon heists

Fish farming is big business in Chile. Stealing fish is, too


Parlacen, a bizarre parliament, is a refuge for bent politicians

A seat in the Central American body offers immunity from prosecution

Brazil courts China as its Musk feud erupts again

Xi Jinping, China’s leader, spies a chance to draw Brazil closer

Brazil’s gangsters have been getting into politics

They want friendly officials to help them launder money