This case study explores democratic backsliding in Brazil that was accompanied by Jair Bolsonaro’s rise to power and his push for autocratization. Bolsonaro’s presidency was characterized by systematic attacks on democratic institutions, including efforts to undermine the judiciary, the legislature, and electoral integrity. A broad prodemocracy coalition of political parties, state governors, civil society, and the judiciary emerged to resist Bolsonaro’s authoritarian drive. The coalition played a pivotal role in preserving Brazil's democratic framework and preventing further erosion of democratic norms, but structural weaknesses in Brazil’s political system—which include growing affective polarization, ineffective governance, and the creeping influence of organized crime—present significant challenges to sustaining democracy. In the face of these enduring threats, maintaining democratic resilience in Brazil will likely be difficult.
AdornoSérgio. 2013. Democracy in progress in contemporary Brazil: Corruption, organized crime, violence and new paths to the rule of law. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology2:409–425.
2.
Aguiar AguilarAzul A.2023. Courts and the judicial erosion of democracy in Latin America. Politics & Policy51 (1): 7–25.
3.
Amorim NetoOctavioAccorsiPedro. 2022. Presidents and generals: Systems of government and the selection of defense ministers. Armed Forces & Society48 (1): 136–163.
4.
Amorim NetoOctavioPimentaGabriel Alves. 2020. The first year of Bolsonaro in office: Same old story, same old song?Revista de Ciencia Política40 (2): 187–213.
5.
AndersonPerry. 2019. Brazil apart: 1964–2019. Verso Books.
6.
AvritzerLeonardo. 2019. The double crisis of representation and participation in Brazil. Representation55 (3): 251–263.
7.
BerschKatherineLopezFelixTaylorMatthew M.. 2023. Patronage and presidential coalition formation. Political Research Quarterly76 (2): 508–523.
8.
BorgesAndré. 2021. The illusion of electoral stability: From party system erosion to right-wing populism in Brazil. Journal of Politics in Latin America13 (2): 166–191.
Gonzalez-OcantosEzequiel A.ChirinosPaula MuñozPavãoNaraHidalgoViviana Baraybar. 2023. Prosecutors, voters and the criminalization of corruption in Latin America: The case of Lava Jato. Cambridge University Press.
11.
HunterWendy. 2010. The transformation of the Workers’ Party in Brazil, 1989–2009. Cambridge University Press.
12.
HunterWendyPowerTimothy J.. 2019. Bolsonaro and Brazil’s illiberal backlash. Journal of Democracy30 (1): 68–82.
13.
HunterWendyVegaDiego. 2022. Populism and the military: Symbiosis and tension in Bolsonaro’s Brazil. Democratization29 (2): 337–359.
14.
LessingBenjamin. 2021. Conceptualizing criminal governance. Perspectives on Politics19 (3): 854–873.
15.
LimongiFernando. 2021. From birth to agony: The political life of Operation Car Wash (Operação Lava Jato). University of Toronto Law Journal71 (S1): 151–173.
16.
MainwaringScott. 2022. Democracy in Brazil: Change, continuity, and crisis. Latin American Research Review57 (4): 936–947.
17.
MelloEduardoSpektorMatias. 2018. Brazil: The costs of multiparty presidentialism. Journal of Democracy29 (2): 113–127.
18.
MichenerGregoryNetoOctavio AmorimCivitareseJamil. 2023. The remoteness of democratic representation. Party Politics29 (1): 51–64.
19.
MignozzettiUmbertoSpektorMatias. 2019. Brazil: When political oligarchies limit polarization but fuel populism. In Democracies divided: The global challenge of political polarization, ed. CarothersThomasO’DonohueAndrew. Brookings Institution Press.
20.
PavãoNara. 2018. Corruption as the only option: The limits to electoral accountability. Journal of Politics80 (3): 996–1010.
21.
PereiraAnthony W.2014. Politics versus policy: Is police politicization a threat to democracy in Brazil?Teoria e Pesquisa: Revista de Ciência Política23 (1): 6–28.
22.
PereiraAnthony W.2020. Brazil, Bolsonaro, and the threat to democracy. Political Quarterly91 (3): 673–675.
23.
RibeiroPedro FlorianoBorgesAndré. 2020. The populist challenge: Multi-level electoral coordination in Brazil’s 2018 elections. Regional & Federal Studies30 (3): 363–386.
24.
RiedlRachel BeattyFriesenPaulMcCoyJenniferRobertsKenneth. 2024. Democratic backsliding, resilience, and resistance. World Politics, ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1353/wp.0.a917802
25.
SamuelsDavidMelloFernandoZuccoCesar. 2024. Partisan stereotyping and polarization in Brazil. Latin American Politics and Society66 (2): 47–71.
26.
StuenkelOliver. 20February2024. How U.S. pressure helped save Brazil’s democracy. Foreign Policy. Available from foreignpolicy.com.
27.
TaylorMatthew M.2020. Coalitions, corruption, and crisis: The end of Brazil’s third republic?Latin American Research Review55 (3): 595–604.
28.
TaylorMatthew M.2022. Courts and judicial independence. In The Oxford handbook of constitutional law in Latin America, ed. MendesConrado HübnerGargarellaRobertoGuidiSebastián. Oxford University Press.
