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Why Didn’t Brazilian Democracy Die?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2024

Marcus André Melo Open the ORCID record for Marcus André Melo [Opens in a new window]  and
Carlos Pereira Open the ORCID record for Carlos Pereira [Opens in a new window]
Marcus André Melo
Affiliation:
Marcus André Melo is a professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, Brazil. marcus.cmelo@gmail.com.
Carlos Pereira
Affiliation:
Carlos Pereira is a professor at the Professor, Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. carlos.pereira@fgv.br.
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Abstract

Brazil, for many scholars and pundits, showcased the risk of democratic breakdown with the election of a far-right populist like Jair Bolsonaro. Against pessimistic expectations, however, not only has Brazilian democracy survived but politics has returned to business as usual. What can explain this supposedly unanticipated outcome? This article provides an analytical assessment of this this puzzle and offers an alternative explanation. We argue that both the diagnoses of Brazilian institutions and the predictions made were misguided. We explore the role played by the Supreme Court, party system, media, and congressional politics in restricting Bolsonaro’s illiberal initiatives.

Keywords

democratic resiliencedemocratic backslidingBrazilpopulismBolsonaro
Type
Country Notes
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , First View , pp. 1 - 27
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of University of Miami

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Footnotes

*

A previous version of this manuscript was presented to the panel “Democracy, Law and Populism in Latin America” at the 27th World Congress of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) that took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 19 2023. We are grateful to Adam Przeworski, Wendy Hunter, Barry Ames, Alfred Montero, Gabriel Negretto, Ivan Jucá, Gregory Michener, Matthew Taylor, Sérgio Abranches, Diego Arguelhes, Daniel Brinks, Lucas Novaes, and three anonymous referees for their valuable comments on and suggestions. This article is also part of our book manuscript entitled Por que a democracia brasileira não morreu? due to be published in May 2024.

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