Counteraction to Bolsonaro embedded with political risks

In the aftermath of the anti-democratic protests called by President Jair Bolsonaro yesterday, one question looms over Brazil’s political system: what can the opposition do to counteract Mr. Bolsonaro’s authoritarian aspirations? 

While we did not see the physical confrontations or the storming of public buildings that many pundits predicted, the message of the protests was undoubtedly violent. Speaking on his soapbox in Brasília, and in São Paulo in the afternoon, President Bolsonaro threatened “scumbag” Supreme Court justices, inferring that they would have to bend to his will, or face removal.

Recently, political scientists have examined why some democracies are more resilient than others in stopping attempts for autocratization. Indeed, as the world itself becomes more tyrannical, the literature has explored authoritarian and democratic resilience from a comparative perspective.

While the best course of action to stop autocratization remains elusive — as it should, being that these processes are multi-causal and multifaceted — these works can give Mr. Bolsonaro’s opposition some clues as to how to proceed in post-September 7 Brazil. 

This article is the first in a series that will rely on existing political science literature to assess possible...