At 51 years old, Congressman Arthur Lira has reached the pinnacle of his political career after being elected Speaker of Brazil’s House of Representatives. For the next two years, he will have a tight grip over the country’s legislative agenda and will hold the proverbial sword of Damocles over the head of Jair Bolsonaro, having sole jurisdiction over accepting or rejecting impeachment requests against the president.
He won the race against nine other candidates — and a runoff stage wasn’t even necessary. With 302 votes, he won over twice as many votes as Baleia Rossi (145 votes) and...
