Podcast

Explaining Brazil #62: How to make a bad political climate worse

This episode, How to make a bad political climate worse, is supported by .Futuro | Rio, the B2B conference about technology for decision-makers. On June 5, in Rio de Janeiro, 25 speakers from Brazil and abroad will get together to discuss how technology transforms businesses and society. The theme for this year’s edition is “Augmented Humanity.” Find out more.

After five months of squabbles with Congress, President Jair Bolsonaro wanted to show his political strength. A massive crowd would corner lawmakers into bending to his will. A flop, however, could spell the ruin of his administration.

The end result was something in between. The president showed he has a dedicated core of supporters—but it was clear that they are not enough to keep the other branches of government constantly in check. Meanwhile, the political climate is deteriorating.

What happens next?

Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device:

On this episode:

Filipe Campante, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University.

Background reading:

Euan Marshall attended the São Paulo pro-Bolsonaro protest: it was neither a flop, nor overwhelming.
Amid the president’s tug of war with Congress, Economy Minister Paulo Guedes threatened to resign if the pension reform is watered down.
Raphael Tsavkko Garcia writes that the Pro-government demos give Mr. Bolsonaro some breathing room.
Meanwhile, however, columnist Claudio Couto believes the administration is on the road to collapse.

Explaining Brazil is made by:

Gustavo Ribeiro, editor in chief of The Brazilian Report. He has extensive experience covering Brazilian politics. His work has been featured across Brazilian and French media outlets, including Veja, Época, Folha de São Paulo, Médiapart and Radio France Internationale.
Maria Martha Bruno, producer. She is a journalist with 14 years of experience in politics, arts, and breaking news. She has collaborated with Al Jazeera, NBC, and CNN, among others, and worked as an international correspondent in Buenos Aires.
Euan Marshall, editing. is a journalist and translator who has lived in São Paulo, Brazil since 2011. Specializing in Brazilian soccer, politics and the connection between the two, his work has been published in The Telegraph, Al Jazeera, The Independent, among others.

Do you have a suggestion for our next Explaining Brazil podcast? Drop us a line at podcast@brazilian.report

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.