ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the events leading up to Bolsonaro’s election victory. Socio-economic factors such as the corruption scandals that shook the nation and its economy over the last few decades allowed this perceived ‘outsider’ in Brazilian politics to rise to power and gain popular support. The upheaval in society induced by some of these shocks paved the way for Bolsonaro to launch his campaign while weakening his political opponents. The chapter also examines how Bolsonaro’s populist rhetoric helped him to retain popular support among the Brazilian majority, despite his sexist, homophobic and racist comments, which alarmed many other segments of Brazilian and international society.
