Both sweeping immunity and overzealous prosecutions of former leaders can undermine democracy. But such prosecutions pose different risks for older democracies like the US than in younger ones.
Justice investigates Bolsonaro’s participation in the events of 8 January 2023: coup attempt failed, but country still divided
Eraldo Peres/ AP
Guilherme Casarões, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo da Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV/EAESP)
Federal Police arrested some of Bolsonaro’s closest aides and carried out search warrants against former ministers and high-ranked military officers. The allegation: plotting a coup.
Brazilian President Lula greets journalists, in Brasilia, one year after rioters stormed the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court buildings.
AP Photo/Eraldo Peres
The third-term president has used his experience and personal relationships with lawmakers to build the majorities that now support his agenda.
Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei, arrives at the seat of government in Buenos Aires, accompanied by his sister Karina, on Dec. 10, 2023.
(AP Photo/Julian Bongiovanni)
Some aspects of Argentine President Javier Milei’s programme resemble the far right, but others do not. Without excluding him from this movement, we should recognize there are differences.
This booking photo provided by Fulton County Sheriff’s Office shows Donald Trump on Aug. 24, 2023, after he surrendered and was booked at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. Trump is accused of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters in a desperate bid to keep Joe Biden out of the White House.
(Fulton County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Those who support Donald Trump unconditionally have not wavered. Their support encompasses numerous groups and reasons, but first and foremost, they believe Trump gives them what they want.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will host the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg.
Government Communication and Information System
Judicial activism can be a double-edged sword. While it swiftly penalized Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro for election misinformation that stoked violence, it’s resulted in anti-choice laws in the U.S.
Deforestation in Santa Cruz, Bolivia (2021). Photo courtesy of Overview.
https://www.over-view.com/
Surging deforestation in Bolivia means the country now ranks as one of the highest carbon emitters in the world.
Former U.S. president Donald Trump gives thumbs up as he watches during the first round of the LIV Golf Tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
It will take a lot of strategic ingenuity to fight the rise of populism. And it will get harder to do so as politicians rig the game with rules designed to reduce voting.
A Uighur woman protests before a group of paramilitary police in western China’s Xinjiang region.
Ng Han Guan/AP
China’s Xi Xinping had trialled his COVID lockdown measures on what he callously called the ‘virus’ of the Uighurs, writes Stan Grant. COVID lockdowns are now over, but the trace of tyranny remains.
Fires are often set to clear land near roads in the Amazon.
Johannes Myburgh / AFP via Getty Images
Nearly 95% of deforestation in the Amazon occurs within 3.5 miles of a road or near a river. Brazil’s plans to ramp up exports may be on a collision course with the forest.
Former President Donald Trump reacts to the crowd after he finished speaking at a campaign rally in support of Sen. Marco Rubio in Miami in November.
(AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The newest class of right-wing populists aims to not only dismantle the guardrails of democracy, but also the most fundamental principles of the rule of law. We must prepare.
Protesters, supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, storm the National Congress building in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023.
(AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
Populism has been unleashed. We’re beyond the stop-gap measures of small-step reform or pragmatic centrist liberalism. What’s next? We’re about to find out.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva speaks to reporters during a news conference on Jan. 23, 2023.
Manuel Cortina/LightRocket via Getty Images
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will meet with President Biden at the White House on Feb. 10, 2023, to discuss several joint issues. But democracy is job one.
Bolstering Brazil’s economy will be hard if there’s a global recession.
Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images
He faces strong headwinds at home and abroad as his third term as president gets underway.
Protesters who support Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro storm the National Congress building in Brasilia, Brazil, on Jan. 8, 2023.
AP Photo/Eraldo Peres
The chaos in Brazil’s capital, along with the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in the US, demonstrate that there is a key human factor in election integrity.
Incoming president Lula faces many challenges.
Agencia Brasil/Alamy
Brazil’s president has some significant struggles ahead to bring the country together.
Hand in glove: former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro presiding over the inauguration of General Edson Leal Pujol as chief of the army in 2019.
Mateus Bonomi/AGIF/Sipa USA
Co-Director, Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention, and Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York