For oustide observers it seems crazy that Brazil will elect Jair Bolsonaro as president in about 1 week, a man who has made many crazy and inflamatory statements in the past. A lot of foreign people are criticizing him and saying that Brazil voters are out of their mind. If you are a foreign, it might seem very puzzling but if you actually live in the Brazil and follow the news and the political scene, is makes quite a bit of sense. Here is an article explaning a lot of what he stands for
https://brazilianlawblog.blogspot.c...nt_5YCB5lWkh-70qD3zBAcHDLSosghLEz-vBUSKjRvSIg
I particularly liked this part:
"As I’m writing this article, about 10 days from the 2nd round of the election, there are many manifestos, declarations and articles, mostly from left-wing thinkers, that condemn Bolsonaro’s economic plans, or that suggest that, despite his plans, his government will turn to dictatorship and eventually ruin Brazilian institutions and international credibility.
There are too many of them. But names such as Piketty and media outlets such as The Economist will give the reader an idea of what I’m talking about.
Plainly speaking, I deem this kind of criticism utter nonsense.
I have read all the material I could find and perceived that there has been very little analysis of Bolsonaro’s actual plans.
Most criticism is based on ideology or is, simply put, propaganda. There is no analysis of his actual cabinet members, political base or economic policies.
The people who studied the plan and that have skin in the game, such as financial firms, stock brokers and Brazilian banks, approved the proposals and do react positively each time a pool shows that the chances of the candidate are increasing."
When I read a lot about the foreign commentary on Brazil, I can't help but to roll my eyes. For instance, the economist magazine was against the impechment of Dilma Rouseff. That position was just so blatantly ridiculous it could only have been made by highly educated folks that are not living in Brazil. I'm sure that when I talk about Turkey or China or Greece, I talk a lot of nonsense as well. Even Druckenmiller talked about in his RealVision interview how he had some bearish bets in Brazil recently (which I'm sure didnt do so well after the recent developments). When people talk about places where they are not following very closely usually nonsense follows. The locals know it best
I'm not a big fan of the guy, I think he carries some nasty tail risk of a military dictatorship. but I do think he is much better than the alternative (a lefist that could send the country back into hyperinflation and that is taking orders from a former president who is in jail). Meanwhile, from the interviews that I listened to, Bolsonaro's economic advisor is brillant, he nails the country's problems and the solutions like few do. Since Brazil is coming out of its worst recession ever with very anemic growth, its an easy vote to make