It is a presidential election under high tension which is about to be held in Brazil. In the running, the outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro, candidate of the far right, faces the former left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A tense duel in a country more divided than ever that deciphers, through the course of the outgoing president, the documentary produced by journalist Stéphanie Lebrun. Jair Bolsonaro, another Brazildirected by Ingrid Piponiot and Laetitia Rossi, is broadcast on the evening of the first ballot, dSunday October 2, at 8:55 p.m. on France 5.
Franceinfo: What did you want to show through this documentary?
Stephanie Lebrun: We were keen to show how the face of Brazil had changed during the four years of Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency and how the problems facing this country had been exacerbated since he came to power. For this, we decided to trace the rise and practice of power of the current Brazilian president. Like Donald Trump in the United States, he is populist, provocative, anti-system and has taken advantage of the population’s growing distrust of politicians. A mistrust that pushed the Brazilians to put this former soldier in power, whom no one knew and whom no one believed.
The deterioration of the economic situation in Brazil also benefited Jair Bolsonaro in 2018…
Yes it is certain. When I set up my production companies, Babel Press and Babel Doc, in 2013 in Brazil, it was a country in full change, in full growth. We were still in the boom years. The 2014 FIFA World Cup, as well as the 2016 Olympics were preparing. There were promises of prosperity, excitement and energy that carried this nation. But from the summer of 2013, we detected the first signs of fractures which resulted in large demonstrations in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and we realized that behind the postcard, the festive atmosphere, the living well together, social peace was only apparent. There are deep social inequalities that a large part of the population does not want to resolve and deep-rooted racism.
And then there was the vast Petrobras corruption scandal…
Yes, in 2014, parallel to the World Cup, the Lava Jato affair broke out, which was to splash the jewels of industry like Petrobras, politicians of all stripes, and also former President Lula, historic leader of the Workers’ Party (PT). This enormous investigation, carried out within political parties and the biggest Brazilian companies, will send to prison a large number of entrepreneurs and politicians, sometimes wrongly, including Lula, accused of corruption. It has since been cleared but from there it all falls apart. Mistrust of politicians and economic decline are the breeding ground for the victory of Jair Bolsonaro, who will play the card of the new man, providential, virgin of any scandal. Moreover, the enormous support, at the time, of the evangelical pastors will also propel him to power.
What has happened since he was elected?
During his presidency, Brazil took a huge leap backwards. We discovered another country. A very retrograde Brazil, centered on the values of family and country. A form of backward-looking nostalgia. But beyond that, there is a huge social divide. In 2014, official sources said that hunger had disappeared from the country, that there was no longer any food insecurity.
“Today, we see that people do not have enough to eat. The lower middle class can no longer pay their rent and find themselves on the street. In the big cities, a lot of people sleep outside.”
Stéphanie Lebrun, producerat franceinfo
Violence has reached levels worthy of the 1990s and 2000s with the favelas once again under the control of gangs and a military police equipped with weapons of war. So there is a record number of deaths by stray bullet. It became everyday life when efforts had been made under the presidencies of Lula and Dilma Rousseff with, among other things, local police which calmed things down a bit. For lack of means, these teams have disappeared.
How do you think this election will go?
It is total uncertainty. All observers consider the scenario to be unpredictable, even if hasToday Lula is credited, according to the polls, with approximately 45% of voting intentions in the first round and Jair Bolsonaro with 30%. So we should find the two candidates in the second round. One of the problems is that thehe first round of elections is held on October 2 and the second is not until October 30. A lot can happen in this time frame, which can be a risk.
And then the dynamics of political life changed after four years of Bolsonaro, because he has no party behind him, we are in the personalization of power. It is the fight of one man against another. Lula is 76 years old, he had to compose and form an alliance with right-wing parties. Everyone wonders what leeway he will have if he is elected. He is on a very anti-Bolsonaro program, he is very much about his past and does not really have a vision. It has nothing to offer other than to say: “It doesn’t have to be Bolsonaro.”
Would Jair Bolsonaro be able to accept his defeat?
Everyone is asking the question. He kept blowing hot and cold. Throughout the summer, he raised suspicions of electoral fraud with the electronic voting system. Lately, he backtracked and said he would accept the outcome of the polls. But the problem is that he has so heated his supporters that they may not accept his defeat. They are ready for anything and are convinced that if Bolsonaro loses, there will have been fraud. They can’t imagine him not being re-elected. Among his supporters, there are motorcycle groups, with whom Bolsonaro is in direct contact, and who criss-cross the country to relay these rumors of potential fraud.
Everyone obviously fears what happened in the US Capitol election. And what everyone agrees is that four years of Bolsonaro means violence in power. It is the violence of words, of gestures. A violence that has plagued the whole of society. We know that Lula is very threatened, he does not move without a bulletproof vest and his meetings are held in optimal security conditions. It is clear that this campaign is not taking place in a serene democratic climate and may give rise to fears for the worst.