POLITICS & HISTORY
Thirdly, Bolsonaro supporters have taken to the streets to protest, as they refuse to accept the election results and claim that there was electoral fraud. This has led to mass protests all over Brazil that are undermining faith in the democratic process. Bolsonaro claims that Brazil’s electronic voting system is not secure and is susceptible to fraud. Regardless of whether his claims are correct or not, it cannot be overlooked that such claims harm people’s trust in the system and therefore can undermine democracy. Moreover, there were also fears regarding whether Bolsonaro would accept defeat or not, and this increased tensions significantly, but Brazil’s Supreme Court has announced that he has accepted defeat after authorising the transition of power. Protesters have erected roadblocks all over Brazil and its major cities, and police are trying to take back control and remove the roadblocks.
These mass protests and roadblocks have brought many parts of Brazil to a standstill. Additionally, Bolsonarists have begun to camp outside military bases all over Brazil, calling for the military to intervene and prevent Lula from gaining office. Bolsonarists have also taken to social media spreading the slogan #Brazilwasstolen, demonstrating their belief that the election was fraudulent. The military conducted an investigation and released a Defence Ministry Report claiming there was no fraud regarding the electronic voting machines. However, some media outlets in Brazil are beginning to report that the Ministry of Defence has released a second report claiming there could have been fraud. Nonetheless, the mass protesting claiming that Brazil’s voting system is unsecure is massively undermining faith in Brazil’s democratic process.
Overall, the 2022 Brazilian presidential election has proved extremely polarising and has brought the country much political unrest. With all the aforementioned factors combined, it has resulted in this election and its aftermath being a strong challenge to Brazil’s democracy, testing it with each day that goes past.
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