VIDEOSGZERO World with Ian BremmerQuick TakePUPPET REGIMEIan ExplainsGZERO ReportsAsk IanGlobal Stage
Site Navigation
Search
Human content,
AI powered search.
Latest Stories
Start your day right!
Get latest updates and insights delivered to your inbox.
Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Hi everybody. Ian Bremmer here. A Quick Take to kick off your week. There's so much that we could talk about, but we just had elections in Brazil, and as expected, Lula will be the next president of the largest economy in South America. We haven't yet heard anything from Jair Bolsonaro. That, of course, is an open question, just how much he wants to be an election denier, how much disruption he wants to bring about. But there's no question that we are going to see that transition.
Now, not a big surprise here. Lula's been polling ahead consistently over the course of the past months, though it was a tighter race, ultimately only a 1.9% split between the two candidates, a couple million votes, which had been tightening over the course of the last few weeks. In part, that's because Bolsonaro did a better job towards the end of electioneering. In part, the economy was getting a little bit better in Brazil. But also, keep in mind, generally speaking, polls underestimate the support you'll get for anti-establishment populace. And one big reason for that is because if you really don't believe in institutions, you are not likely to tell pollsters who you're going to vote for. You know why? Because you don't trust them. Now, the good news is a lot of people that really believe in conspiracy theories don't even bother to vote. But nonetheless, if they are going to vote, they're probably not going to talk to pollsters about it. So you do get a bit of that shy, radical populous turnout that did happen this time around, but not enough to make a difference.
So first of all, what do we think Bolsonaro is going to do? I mean, it would be good for the country, it'd be good for his legacy if he could just accept the fact that this was a free and fair election. Everyone around the world understands that. And as a consequence, conceding gracefully. He can run again in the future. He can certainly set himself up to be the leader of the Brazilian opposition. A lot of his allies have done comparatively well in elections, both in the Brazil's Congress, as well as in key governorships. He could be well set up for that.
His personality does not imply that's what he's going to do, much more about him than it is about his party, or it is about the country. And as a consequence, and maybe this is a problem with a lot of people that go into national elections in this environment, but it clearly appears that Bolsonaro is likely to say that this was fake news. That's a big lie. That the election really was his and not prepared to accept the outcome. Of course, if he does that, there is going to be a lot of internal dissent in the country. We'll certainly see big demonstrations, truckers for example, bikers for example, that can cause economic damage and disruption, dislocation, that could cause violence in capital cities across Brazil. But it won't change the outcome, and there's no ability for Bolsonaro to stop what will be a peaceful and on-time transition in the country. The military generally supports him but would not support a coup against democracy. The judiciary is not independent. It's actually increasingly politicized, but it doesn't support Bolsonaro. So that's not going to help him. And a lot of his allies, including in Congress, have already made clear that Bolsonaro actually lost what was a free and fair election.
So could there be a January 6th type moment in Brazil? I hope not. It's possible. But ultimately, like in the United States, it doesn't change the trajectory of this election. What it does do is continually undermine and erode the institutional legitimacy itself. That, of course, is a longer-term danger, not just in Brazil and the United States, but in many democracies around the world.
Finally, what about Lula himself? Certainly, you're now going to have a country that is more oriented towards assertive response on climate change. He's already talked about bringing deforestation down to zero in Brazil, which is going to be hard to do, but he'll be more welcomed on the international stage as a consequence of that. Economically, this is going to be a strongly left-leaning president, though the fact that he has talked a lot more about trying to tack to the center in past months, in part, to position himself to win. But in part because he understands that Congress is going to be much more divided with a lot of conservatives that aren't going to support a strongly populist economic position. That he's going to have a hard time dramatically changing the economic trajectory to the country, or significantly spending a lot of money on the fiscal side without figuring out how to pay for it.
So I suspect that this is... Even though the markets have taken a hit on the basis of Lula's win, ultimately this is going to be more stability in transition than a lot of people think. So I've never been super concerned about this election. I continue not to be super concerned about it. There's more stability in Brazil than a lot of people want to believe, and we'll watch where it goes. That's it for me, and I'll talk to you all real soon.
Keep reading...Show less
More from Quick Take
Zelensky, Trump, and NATO: A united front on Ukraine?
August 18, 2025
Trump and Putin to meet in Alaska to discuss Ukraine
August 11, 2025
US government rescinds West Point role for former cyber director
August 04, 2025
US-EU trade deal marks a win for Trump
July 28, 2025
The US, China, and the critical minerals question
July 21, 2025
Epstein conspiracies divide Trump's MAGA base
July 14, 2025
US-Brazil relations in crisis
July 10, 2025
Elon Musk vows to start a new political party
July 07, 2025
What Zohran Mamdani’s win really signals for US politics
June 30, 2025
Iran's retaliation shows strategic weakness
June 23, 2025
US enters war with Iran: What comes next?
June 22, 2025
Iran looks to negotiate ceasefire
June 16, 2025
Elon vs. Trump: Billionaire fallout goes public
June 06, 2025
Elon Musk steps down from Trump administration
May 29, 2025
Trump's weekend of geopolitical success
May 12, 2025
Can Trump and Carney reset US-Canada relations?
May 07, 2025
Trump’s ‘less is more’ message is un-American
May 05, 2025
Ian Bremmer on Trump's first 100 days
April 28, 2025
Trump’s America: A kleptocracy but not a police state
April 23, 2025
Inside the Harvard-Trump showdown
April 21, 2025
Can the US win by undoing globalization?
April 14, 2025
Who benefits from Trump's tariff wall?
April 07, 2025
Trump's tariffs & the end of globalization
April 03, 2025
Leaked Signal chat shows Trump team's mindset
March 26, 2025
What Trump team's war plans leak revealed
March 25, 2025
Is Europe in trouble as the US pulls away?
March 24, 2025
Putin-Trump Ukraine call is a small win for both sides
March 18, 2025
What will Trump offer Putin in Ukraine ceasefire talks?
March 17, 2025
Ukraine ceasefire deal now awaits Putin's response
March 11, 2025
Can Europe broker a Ukraine ceasefire?
March 03, 2025
What Trump-Zelensky fallout means for Ukraine war
March 01, 2025
Why the US-Ukraine minerals deal changed
February 26, 2025
Germany's close election limits its ability to lead Europe
February 24, 2025
Ukraine hopes for Europe's help as US negotiates with Russia
February 18, 2025
JD Vance stuns Munich conference with critique on European democracy
February 14, 2025
Trump-Putin chat over Ukraine "deeply" worries Europe
February 13, 2025
What is Trump's Gaza playbook?
February 10, 2025
Why cutting USAID will hurt American foreign policy
February 05, 2025
Why is Trump starting a trade war with Canada?
February 02, 2025
How Trump's assertive foreign policy impacts international relations
January 27, 2025
Trump's Davos address sets up big shifts in US strategy
January 24, 2025
From Davos: How global leaders are grappling with Trump’s return
January 20, 2025
Ian Bremmer on the forces behind the geopolitical recession
January 17, 2025
What Greenlanders might want from a deal with Trump
January 13, 2025
New Year's Day terror attacks highlight America's divisions
January 03, 2025
GZERO Series
GZERO Daily: our free newsletter about global politics
Keep up with what’s going on around the world - and why it matters.





























































