berg80
Diamond Member
- Oct 28, 2017
- 14,953
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They were two shocking attacks on the Western Hemisphere’s two largest democracies, both broadcast around the world and both prompted by presidents who had questioned their legitimate election losses. Each posed an extraordinary test of the country’s democracy, and each raised the question of how a deeply polarized society would move forward in the wake of such an assault.
The parallel attacks have had nearly opposite aftermaths. In the United States, support is soaring for Donald J. Trump’s campaign to retake the White House, as he frames his 2020 election loss as the real insurrection and Jan. 6 as “a beautiful day.”
At the same time, his counterpart in Brazil, the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, has quickly faded into political irrelevance. Six months after he left office last year, electoral officials barred him from running again until 2030, and many right-wing leaders have shunned him.
So why have there been such contrasting reactions to such similar threats? Researchers and analysts point to a multitude of reasons, including the countries’ differing political systems, media landscapes, national histories and judicial responses, but one difference especially stands out.
Leaders on Brazil’s right “publicly, clearly, unambiguously accepted the results of the election and did exactly what democratic politicians are supposed to do,” said Steven Levitsky, a Harvard professor of government and co-author of the book “How Democracies Die,” who studies both the American and Brazilian democracies. “That is strikingly different from how Republicans responded.”
Two Capitol Riots. Two Very Different Results.
Ten years ago I never would have predicted the right wing in Brazil, or any country, would display more respect for the constitutional order than the right wing in the US. Then MAGAism happened.
The takeaway is this. There was a small window of opportunity to rid ourselves of the Orange Menace shortly after his failed attempt to deny the will of the voters and steal the presidency. A window that closed when Repub leadership in Congress, and in conservative media, recognized the failed coup had not dented The Following's maniacal devotion to their Dear Leader.
To this day no one has really been able to explain the bond they feel to such a piece of shit.
The parallel attacks have had nearly opposite aftermaths. In the United States, support is soaring for Donald J. Trump’s campaign to retake the White House, as he frames his 2020 election loss as the real insurrection and Jan. 6 as “a beautiful day.”
At the same time, his counterpart in Brazil, the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, has quickly faded into political irrelevance. Six months after he left office last year, electoral officials barred him from running again until 2030, and many right-wing leaders have shunned him.
So why have there been such contrasting reactions to such similar threats? Researchers and analysts point to a multitude of reasons, including the countries’ differing political systems, media landscapes, national histories and judicial responses, but one difference especially stands out.
Leaders on Brazil’s right “publicly, clearly, unambiguously accepted the results of the election and did exactly what democratic politicians are supposed to do,” said Steven Levitsky, a Harvard professor of government and co-author of the book “How Democracies Die,” who studies both the American and Brazilian democracies. “That is strikingly different from how Republicans responded.”
Two Capitol Riots. Two Very Different Results.
Ten years ago I never would have predicted the right wing in Brazil, or any country, would display more respect for the constitutional order than the right wing in the US. Then MAGAism happened.
The takeaway is this. There was a small window of opportunity to rid ourselves of the Orange Menace shortly after his failed attempt to deny the will of the voters and steal the presidency. A window that closed when Repub leadership in Congress, and in conservative media, recognized the failed coup had not dented The Following's maniacal devotion to their Dear Leader.
To this day no one has really been able to explain the bond they feel to such a piece of shit.
