The Brazilian theater of insanity

Several friends of mine are asking me what is happening in Brazil. The answer to that question is simple: a theater of insanity.

In 2016 Brazil suffered a coup d'état disguised as an impeachment. The smooth disruption of democracy was supported by bankers, food producers, businessmen, political leaders, judges, military personal and the media.

Bolsonaro was sucked into power by the vacuum created by the coup. At first, the architects of the coup believed that the new president could be controlled or perhaps tolerated for economic reasons.

That was a big mistake. Bolsonaro is an insane man who dreams of rebuilding the Military Dictatorship ended in 1985 to exercise absolute power. His economic management is erratic: Brazil exports food mainly to China, but Bolsonaro attacks the Chinese for ideological reasons; the Brazilian economy depends on foreign investment, but Bolsonaro scares off investors by facilitating the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

In the last 2 years thousands of medium and large companies have closed their doors in Brazil. Unemployment rose, Brazilians' incomes fell (in part because of the pandemic). Hunger is once again an important phenomenon here. With his family and several supporters besieged by corruption charges and with his popularity declining, Bolsonaro became desperate.

With each defeat Bolsonaro suffers in Brazilian Congress or the Brazilian Supreme Court, he grows more aggressive. Now it looks like he's decided to play the "all or nothing" game. He has done this in the past and was forced to back down. But this time the patience with him has diminished a lot. Bolsonaro is no longer able to lead the forces that launched the 2016 coup. Even in his weakened state, he plays an insane political game.

So tomorrow two things could happen: another fart and retreat from Bolsonaro or outbreaks of violence unleashed by his supporters. In the second hypothesis, the most predictable result is the criminal accountability of Bolsonaro, as he mobilized and radicalized the fanatics who follow him.

Prepare the popcorn, the Brazilian theater of insanity will begin.