The anti-democratic events that unfolded in Brazil’s capital on Sunday, 8 January 2023 serve as a stern warning of the dangers and pitfalls of “strongman” populist politics the world over.
More than 3,000 supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro invaded and vandalised the supreme court, presidential palace and congress to try to reverse the democratic outcomes of the elections held on 30 October 2022.
We are reminded that ardent populism — whether on the far left or far right — appeals to the worst aspects of humanity. Former US president Barack Obama, in a speech in Johannesburg in July 2018 honouring Nelson Mandela, was acutely correct when he stated that the rise of populist movements had helped spark a global boom for the “politics of fear and resentment and retrenchment” that pave a path to authoritarianism.
“I am not being alarmist. I am just stating facts,” he said. His warning should have run loudly through the halls of power. Instead, we’ve seen attacks on the basic fundamental tenets of democracy and the rule of law.
What happened in Brasilia was preceded in the US Capitol riots of 6 January 2021, where extremist groupings and conspiracy-driven movements felt emboldened and empowered to take the law into their own hands.
It is hardly surprising as the similarities between Bolsonaro and Donald Trump are many. Both are proto-fascist fanatics and populists who won elections on the promise to transition their societies from socially liberal into a deeply conservative state — the romanticisation of a bygone era where the nation-state was supreme, where globalisation didn’t exist, and where international trade deals and socioeconomic blocs were but a distant dream.
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The danger lies in the size of Brazil’s economy and its role in South America. It is the largest economy on the continent and leads in social and political trends. Hence its democratic compass should be beyond reproach because what happens in Brazil is easily (and often) replicated elsewhere in South America.
Many claim that the rise of right-wing populism is a pendulum reaction to left-wing political “over-correctness”. In Brazil, the very opposite happened on 1 January 2023 with the inauguration of the new democratically elected president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A left-leaning president was elected in rejection of right-wing populism.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Putin and the populist playbook: A lesson for democracies”
Brazil’s right wing could not concede that point, with Bolsonaro refusing to concede defeat by snubbing the tradition of democratically handing over power to Lula. Bolsonaro supporters demanded military intervention to reverse the popular will — an assault on democratic institutions and the peaceful transfer of power.
The lesson for us as South Africans and Africans is that populist leaders are not credible and reliable change agents because they often become a danger to democracy and encourage a slide to fear, resentment and authoritarianism, as Obama put it.
Instead, let’s support leaders who are champions of democracy on the African continent. Leaders like Nelson Chamisa who is fighting the oppressive Zanu-PF regime in Zimbabwe. Leaders like Bobi Wine who is standing tall against the near 37-year dictatorship of Yoweri Museveni’s human rights abuses. And leaders like Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema who is turning the country into an economic powerhouse by righting the many past wrongs of the Edgar Lungu era.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Outplaying the populists: A playbook for competitive African politics”
As citizens we must guard our democracy and respect the will of the people by asking ourselves tough questions before we vote, and of our leaders after we vote to hold them to account to us as voters. We should ceaselessly demand quality, merit-based leadership with credible, realistic and achievable policy solutions to our domestic problems. DM
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Does this include Malema rhetoric? O Yes, and get your facts right about what happened and by who on 6 Jan in USA. Don’t use the mainstream media and Democratic Party version of events. Lastly, weak article with very limited research. I think this also makes you a populist.
This is a timeous and important opinion piece. Populist Politicians prey on the fears of desperate citizens. Desperate because their lives are in turmoil due to a lack of access to basic services that impacts on their dignity as human beings, no means to provide for their children, no means to access credit, no means to improve themselves or their lot. Promises are made of nationalising state and private assets to be distributed equally to everyone. Mediocracy is promoted by accepting lower standards and excellence and hard work is seen as a threat to the good of all. A responsible and mature government works to create an environment in which people thrive by their own efforts. Creating a nanny state takes away a person’s pride and sense of responsibility and results in dependency and later resentment. Soon a sense of victimhood develops followed by feelings of entitlement. It becomes the breeding ground for a ‘revolution’ that will ultimately end in further disappointment and a sense of hopelessness. Any populist statement made by a populist politician should be interrogated to determine the real agenda. Is it really in the interest of the people or rather to obtain or retain power. In South Africa we have access to information that can be used for critical thinking. It is time for us to stop being lazy and to vote in a balanced government – one that takes care of our basic needs but also a government that creates the circumstances that allows us to thrive.