Sunday, October 2: The Old Man & The Fool
Brazil's election today provides a roadmap for other democracies in decline
Presidential elections in Brazil today place Jair Bolsonaro against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a contest that’s polarized the country. Bolsonaro,a right-wing nationalist whose denial of Covid has resulted in him getting the virus several times, has remarkable popularity amongst the upper class. Lula, a leftist former president imprisoned on trumped-up corruption charges until relatively recently, is popular among the working class and in the favelas.
Bolsonaro has employed familiar language regarding a loss equating a stolen elections, spreading fear of false ballots, and encouraging his supporters not to accept defeat. It’s not difficult to guess who his rhetorical inspiration may be. Lula meanwhile, seems content to sit back and watch his opponent destroy himself. He’s a known commodity, and he’s understandably trying to play it safe against an unpopular incumbent.
The preliminary results should start rolling in this evening around 7pm EST, so if something wild goes down, it’ll probably kick off tonight or tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Side Items
At least 170 people died after a riot broke out after a soccer game in Indonesia. Fans rushed the field after the game and as fighting broke out police chose to escalate the situation by firing tear gas into the crowd. How tear gas was going to help settle things is lost on me, but the result was a stampede of suffocating people making a beeline for the exits, trampling anyone in their way. Some will choose to blame violent fans or stadium design, but to me it’s yet another example of police getting involved, only to make things worse. Tear gas is no joke (this post sponsored by the Anti-Tear Gas Alliance)
The death toll from Hurricane Ian continues to climb in Florida, as more than 45 people have been confirmed dead, the majority in Lee County, one of the areas that hesitated to issue an evacuation order. If luck is the intersection of hard work and opportunity, what exactly do you call that? Read an account from inside Moore Haven Correctional Facility where the storm raged outside and made its impact felt inside
Read more about how real estate developers in Florida took advantage of low-lying areas with no chance of surviving a storm like this. The term “dredge and fill” was not one I was previously familiar with, but it is one I wish I could unlearn