Brazil’s right has already changed the balance of power
Ahead of Brazil's October 25 presidential runoff, analysis argues Bolsonaro's Liberal Party has already reshaped Congress with 121 lower-house and 28 Senate seats - putting the Supreme Court in its sights.
Brazil's presidential runoff is days away, and regardless of who wins on October 25, the country's right has already seized a powerful position. In the first round on October 4, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro won 56.1 million votes (47.03 percent) to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's 53.9 million (45.16 percent), and recent polls put the runoff within the margin of error.
The deeper story is in Congress, argues Brazilian essayist Bruno Cava in an Al Jazeera opinion piece. Bolsonaro's Liberal Party (PL) jumped from 97 to 121 seats in the 513-member lower house, while the PT-led bloc edged from 82 to 88. In the Senate, where 54 of 81 seats were contested, the PL will hold 28 - and a Folha de S. Paulo survey found at least 49 senators open to impeaching Supreme Court justices in some circumstances, five short of the two-thirds required.
That matters for the Supreme Court, Cava writes: Justice Alexandre de Moraes oversaw the case that sent former President Jair Bolsonaro - convicted of plotting to overturn the 2022 result - to prison under a 27-year sentence he is serving under house arrest. Bolsonaro-aligned candidates promised to curb the court's powers.
On the campaign trail, Flavio has pitched a "Ministry of Prosperity", 500,000 new prison places, easier civilian access to firearms, and lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16. Lula counters with economic gains: unemployment falling from 7.8 percent in 2023 to 5.3 percent this year, plus a proposal - backed by congressional leaders - to gradually end Brazil's six-day working week without cutting wages.
Source: Al Jazeera English — TrendWire reports stories in its own words; facts should be confirmed against the original source.