After three years of Bolsonaro, Brazilians’ appreciation of democracy grows

Few political analysts disagree that Brazil’s young democracy will face its biggest challenge in its 37 years of existence later this year. Voters will choose a new president, governors, and lawmakers in a climate of exceptional polarization. Worryingly, the unpopular incumbent president has consistently indicated he will not take defeat gracefully.

But the country does have one thing going for it: Brazilians, who traditionally express strong distrust of public institutions, have grown fonder of democracy.

In its latest electoral poll, the Ipespe institute showed that although two-thirds of voters are unsatisfied with the state of Brazilian democracy, the portion of those who consider it preferable to any other system grew from 56 to 67 percent over the past three years.

In October 2018, almost 58 million people voted for a man who openly brandished his authoritarianism: he defended the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil between...