The race between the incumbent president and Flávio Bolsonaro is a part of a decades-long right-left split in the country over the meaning of the nation.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Oct. 26, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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President Donald Trump’s relationship with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is complicated by the US administration’s broader strategy in Latin America.
Brazil former President Jair Bolsonaro gestures as he faces Alexandre de Moraes, the powerful Brazilian Supreme Court judge.
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However, there is a more profound lesson we can learn from Brazil: Democracy depends on more than institutions.
U.S. President Donald Trump and then-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attend a joint news conference at the White House on March 19, 2019.
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US president’s letter to Brazilian counterpart mentioned trade deficit. But don’t be fooled, these tariffs are political rather than economic.
The former president looked disappointed on Jan. 18, 2025, after a judge denied his request to travel to the U.S. for Donald Trump’s inauguration.
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The latest legal developments could galvanize his right-wing base.
On the political front, the renewal of the conservative wave caused by Trump’s victory has left Bolsonaro supporters ecstatic. But the fiscal and monetary decisions that the new Republican administration will have to make could have a costly impact on the Brazilian economy.
AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo
Guilherme Casarões, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo da Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV/EAESP)
Protectionist policies could harm exports of Brazilian industrial products, and the alliance between the US and Argentina will jeopardise Brazil’s efforts to integrate South America