Bolsonaro’s Quasi-Amnesty
After the Brazilian Supreme Court convicted Bolsonaro and other military figures for their role in the January 2023 coup attempt, many saw this as a positive example for the world. Justice Moraes, the rapporteur and central figure in Bolsonaro’s prosecution, hailed these developments as a “triple victory”: for the judiciary, which “did not yield to threats”; for national sovereignty; and for democracy. Last week, however, Congress approved the so-called Dosimetry Bill, which allows for a significant reduction in sentences for those convicted. In light of the Bill, such declarations of triumph warrant reconsideration.
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Abusive+ in Brazil
In the recently published article Abusive Feminism, Rosalind Dixon problematizes the weaponization of “feminism” by actors as a means to erode, rather than promote, democratic ends, and provides a path for those who wish to resist it. Brazil offers powerful examples of the phenomenon identified by Dixon, confirming many of her conclusions – and, conversely, unearths aspects that could help us deepen our understanding of how abuse happens.
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The Legal Profession in the Executive Branch
The Trump administration is reshaping the roles of the U.S. legal profession and the civil service to use them as a tool to support the President’s political interests. This impacts an understudied and politically significant group of bureaucrats: government lawyers. They play a critical gatekeeper role in establishing legal principles that can both enable and hinder the systematic weakening of democratic institutions. The case of Brazil has a lot of important lessons to offer.
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