Well, here we are again. Another election, another headline about the "far-right tsunami" and "progressive voters reeling." You'd think after a while, these folks in the newsrooms of London and New York would learn a thing or two about listening to the common man, but here we are. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the previous firebrand, just took a commanding lead in Brazil's first round, and the usual suspects are clutching their pearls and wringing their hands. It's almost as predictable as the changing seasons, isn't it?
Fifty-six million Brazilians, give or take a few, looked at their country, their economy, and their values, and decided that Flávio Bolsonaro was their man. Fifty-six million people who, I'm willing to bet, aren't sitting around reading high-minded tracts on post-colonial theory or lamenting the plight of endangered snail darters. No, these are folks who want a stable job, a safe neighborhood, and a government that doesn't constantly seem to be talking down to them from some ivory tower. They're looking for order, for a return to some sense of normalcy, and for a government that understands the value of hard work and personal responsibility.
The incumbent, Lula, who's been around the block a few times, is being portrayed as the plucky underdog now. He's got a "mountain to climb," they say. And he might. But let's not forget, Lula represents a different vision, one that often relies on government expansion and what many of us would call 'big-government' solutions to every problem. For many in Brazil, just like here in the heartland, the question isn't about grand ideological battles cooked up in a university seminar. It's about whether you can afford groceries, whether your kids are safe at school, and whether the lights stay on. And it seems a good chunk of Brazilians are tired of the answers they've been getting from the progressive side of the aisle.
The language used in these reports, calling Bolsonaro's rise a "far-right tsunami," always gets me. It's a convenient label, isn't it? Slap "far-right" on anyone who doesn't march in lockstep with the prevailing intellectual currents of the coastal media, and suddenly, you don't have to understand *why* people are voting that way. You just dismiss them as an inexplicable, dangerous force of nature. It’s a way of saying, "These voters are wrong, and we don't need to engage with their reasons." It's condescending, plain and simple, and it's precisely why a lot of everyday people, whether in Ohio or outside Rio, feel unheard.
But Edmund Burke, a fellow I'm quite fond of, taught us that society is a partnership, not just between the living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born. It's about continuity, prudence, and respect for the institutions and traditions that have held a society together. And when a significant portion of a country feels those traditions are under assault, or that their way of life is being devalued by those in power, you're going to see a reaction. That's not a "tsunami"; that's the natural course of human affairs when people feel their voice isn't being heard.
This isn't about some radical new ideology sweeping the globe; it's about a return to fundamentals. People are looking for leaders who understand that governments are instituted to protect life, liberty, and property, not to re-engineer society from the top down. They're looking for strength and stability, especially in uncertain times. And when the alternative is presented as more of the same, or worse, a continued push towards policies that haven't delivered prosperity or security, then the choice becomes clear for millions.
The second round is on October 25th, and Lula's got his work cut out for him. But the message from the first round is clear for anyone willing to listen: a lot of people are tired of being told how to think, how to feel, and who to vote for. They're ready for a change, and they're not afraid to shake things up to get it. Maybe it’s time for the "progressive voters" and the pundits who speak for them to do a bit less reeling and a bit more listening. They might just learn something.