So, this weekend I was out in the sticks, and I returned from my holiday to nowhere to find Senhor Bolsonaro to have won the presidency of Brazil.
Naturally, the dishonest media is calling him “The Brazilian Trump,” and forecasting their own demise. It’s a shame their predictions never come true.
There is a historical cycle that capitalist societies go through. In the first stage, things get more and more decadent as people vote themselves increasing levels of privilege. Eventually, those same people who asked for the life-without-working awaken, horrified, at the danger to their children. They then create the most masculine government they can manage.
If the people are successful, then the masculine government rapidly burns out all the pillage and excess and corruption in their society. At this point, the people find all those rules boring, and go back to asking their capitalist masters to manage their lives for them again.
Case in point: UKIP, after Brexit.
Brazilian society is now at the apex of dissatisfaction with the pointlessness that is commodity capitalism. They’ll be grateful to a Bolsonaro government that imprisons the rich commodities traders and throws a few entitled pseudoleftists out of random helicopters. Eventually, these same people will have the luxury of electing more libertarian overlords, and the cycle will repeat anew.
Truly, people get what they deserve. The people of Brazil have a strongman now. History suggests that he’ll do a good job and then be cursed by the same people who begged him to serve.