Brazil’s “third way” admits defeat

Senator Simone Tebet is set to be the third way's presidential candidate. Photo: Roque de Sá/SF

Last year, a group of established names from Brazil’s center-right and center-left published a manifesto in defense of democracy. Co-signed by six presidential hopefuls, the document led parts of the mainstream media to believe in the possibility of a broad front to break the electoral duopoly between far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and his center-left nemesis, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

One year later, the so-called “third way” is in complete disarray. Less than five months before Election Day, the group of center-right parties has yet to settle on a candidate, nor any semblance of a campaign strategy to change the minds of voters who have already decided to favor one of the two frontrunners.

After multiple adjournments, a decision on a candidate will be announced on May 24. The Brazilian Report understands that the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), the Brazilian Democratic Movement...

Amanda Audi

Amanda Audi is a journalist specializing in politics and human rights. She is the former executive director of Congresso em Foco and worked as a reporter for The Intercept Brasil, Folha de S. Paulo, O Globo, Gazeta do Povo, Poder360, among others. In 2019, she won the Comunique-se Award for best-written media reporter and won the Mulher Imprensa award for web journalism in 2020