Commentary
Brazil’s next presidential elections are scheduled to be held on Oct. 2—this Sunday. Many sectors of the media have accused the current incumbent, presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, of posing a threat to Brazil’s democracy. Indeed, he is widely depicted by the western media as a being “fascist” or worse intent on tyranny.
By contrast, media reports, especially overseas media, blandly describe the opposition candidate, former President Lula da Silva, merely as “leftist” or “liberal.”
So, what is wrong with this sort of narrative?
Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, more commonly known simply as “Lula,” is the leftist candidate in this presidential election. He was Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2011. During this period, he was the leader of a notoriously corrupt government that employed thousands of members of his own party, the Workers’ Party, in the state’s machinery….