Unprecedented level of political radicalism in Brazil

Even before far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed in the stomach, Brazil’s presidential race had reached levels of radicalism unheard of since the 1985 return to democracy. Now, the hole is getting even deeper. This new escalation of violence touches, of all people, the most belligerent of our presidential hopefuls: Jair Bolsonaro, the only relevant candidate who can truly be called an extremist. Indeed, Mr. Bolsonaro’s campaign is the very product of the radicalism that has shaped Brazilian politics for the past decade.

Under Lula, the Workers’ Party adopted a very polarizing rhetoric which was met with an even fiercer reactionary discourse. Lula and his supporters claimed to be the only ones (or, at least, the first ones) ever to worry about the poor in five centuries of Brazilian history – denouncing the atavistic disregard the elites have for peripheral populations. In return, detractors called the Workers’ Party a “criminal band” that should be scrapped from the public arena altogether.

Truth be told, the Workers’ Party didn’t help its own case, as it never conducted a process of self-evaluation that would have allowed itself to renew its practices and correct any mistakes. It then made itself an easy target. This led to the Social Democracy Party’s refusal to accept the result of the 2014 election – saying that Workers’ Party candidate Dilma Rousseff only won...