Brazil Election Campaign Period Officially Begins, Fears of Violence Remain

Brazil's Presidential Election's campaign period officially kicked off on Tuesday. However, there are still growing concerns that political violence and other threats to democracy are already brewing in the country.

This year's Brazilian election is promising to be one of the most divisive in the country's history. Earlier this year, a politician supporting former President Lula was shot dead by a supporter of current President Jair Bolsonaro.

The incident is escalating fears that the election might take a violent turn as Bolsonaro's rhetoric continues to rile up supporters and stoke fears of a Trump-style coup inspired by the January 6 Capitol insurrection. Brazilian election officials have already warned the United States that Bolsonaro might try to pull this off.

Bolsonaro Supporters Continue Harassment of Lula Supporters

The fatal shooting by a Bolsonaro supporter was not the only stunt pulled by supporters of the current president. According to Bloomberg, a Bolsonaro supporter threw an explosive during a rally by Lula during a Saint John's Day celebration. The man threw the explosive into the fenced area near the stage. Luckily, nobody was hurt, and the man was arrested.

Meanwhile, France 24 reported other incidents where Bolsonaro supporters harassed the supporters of his political rival. During a rally in June, a drone flew above a crowd of Lula supporters and sprayed them with a fetid liquid.

Another incident happened last month when a man detonated an explosive device containing feces into a crowd. According to social media reports, both were perpetrated by Bolsonaro supporters.

According to the Associated Press, Lula canceled his first event due to security risks. A Brazilian political expert noted that while Bolsonaro was stabbed in the previous election, he does not run the same risk as Lula when it comes to safety. However, he does still wear a bulletproof vest in campaign sorties.

A Critical Test for Brazil's Democracy

Jair Bolsonaro is often touted as the Donald Trump of Brazil, as the current Brazilian president is using tactics and rhetoric similar to the former U.S. president. He is currently lagging in the polls, and experts are saying that he is more likely to lose the election.

However, Bolsonaro is attacking the country's electoral system and calling members of its electoral committee corrupt and in cahoots with Lula. Bolsonaro is sowing doubts about the results of the election, much like what Trump did. He also tried telling foreign diplomats that the election was rigged but did not present any solid evidence.

During a rally last year, Bolsonaro told tens of thousands of his supporters that only God can remove him from power. This made analysts and experts raise concerns that he may attempt a coup should he lose to his leftist opponent.

Human Rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch, are monitoring the situation in one of South America's largest democracies closely. They said that this is a critical test for democracy and the rule of law in the country and in Latin America."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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