Viet Nam News RIO DE JANEIRO — Former army captain Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil on Sunday, promising a fundamental change in direction for the giant Latin American country, the latest to take a turn to the right. Despite repulsing many with his open support of the torture used by Brazil’s former military regime, as well as remarks deemed misogynist, racist and homophobic, Bolsonaro managed to tap voters’ deep anger with corruption, crime and economic malaise. Official results gave the controversial president-elect 55.13 per cent of the vote to 44.87 for leftist opponent Fernando Haddad, with 99.99 per cent of the ballots counted. Bolsonaro, 63, will take office on January 1. “We will change Brazil’s destiny together,” he said in his victory speech — broadcast live from his home on Facebook, the platform he has used to campaign since an attacker stabbed him in the stomach at a rally on September 6. Sitting next to his wife and wearing a dark blazer, the “Tropical Trump,” as some have dubbed him, delivered his speech in a stern voice. He pledged to govern “following the Bible and the constitution,” and said: “We cannot continue flirting with socialism, communism, populism and the extremism of the left.” But the longtime congressman promised to defend “the constitution, democracy and freedom,” fending off opponents’ warnings he would try to veer toward authoritarianism after openly expressing his admiration for Brazil’s brutal military dictatorship (1964-1985). Thousands of supporters flooded the streets outside his home in Rio de Janeiro,… [Read full story]
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