Conservatism Grows in Brazil, Despite Leftist President’s Win (Wall Street Journal)
by
Conservative politicians backed by a wealthy agricultural sector cement their presence in Congress, churches and commerce despite right-wing President Bolsonaro’s election loss
Come Jan. 1, about 65% of senators who will take office will either be allied to Mr. Bolsonaro or not in opposition to him—“a markedly more conservative” senate, according to an analysis by Congress in Focus, a congressional monitoring group.In the lower house of Congress, 36% of federal deputies who will take office have expressed support for Mr. Bolsonaro, while only 24% have backed Mr. da Silva, according to the group. “The lower house has a strengthened rightwing…and a weakening of Brazil’s most traditional political parties,” Congress in Focus said in the analysis.Brazil’s farming belt is at the heart of the political shift in this nation of 215 million people, a transformation made possible in large part because of China’s demand for grains and meat.
While China is now facing its worst economic slowdown in years, that should have little effect on Brazil’s agricultural sector, said Kelly Luostarinen, a director and China expert at PwC in São Paulo. China’s arable land accounts for only 12.7% of the Asian giant’s territory according to 2020 data from the World Bank.READ MORE
