Biden or Trump: How the US Presidential election will affect Black Brazilians
I went into the voting booth also thinking about my brothers and sisters in Brazil
I voted two weeks ago just before returning to Brazil. I'm wary of publicly telling people who I voted for (I'm a journalist). But it should be VERY obvious who I didn't vote for - Trump.
I'm a liberal black American, so that shouldn't be a surprise.
And since Brazil has been my home for the last five years, I also contemplated strongly the negative effect that a Trump reelection would have on my brothers and sisters in Brazil.
In short, another four years of Trump, would mean more dying black people in Brazil, and further destruction of whatever human rights is left in the country. This is basically the same thing that is happening in the US, but on a greater scale.
Allow me to break it down for you:
If Trump is reelected:
There is no doubt that Jair Bolsonaro will be reelected in 2020. Trump's 2016 election made a 2018 Jair Bolsonaro presidency palatable to Brazilians, who quite frankly, love following in America's footsteps. Trump is extremely popular with Bolsonaro’s supporters, the majority of whom are white and male (Yes Bolsonaro has black supporters).
Young Black men will continue to die in Brazil. Bolsonaro will continue push a public security agenda that will ensure the murder of young black men by trigger happy police —who are often black themselves.
Brazil will continue to take on a more American style of racism. Racism in the United States is in your face. It's ugly. It's violent. Now I'm not going to sit up here and say that racism in Brazil isn't just as bad. It's just hits DIFFERENT. It's cordial and sometimes undetectable if you don't have a keen eye. In the last two years Brazilians have become so nasty with their racism, that Black Brazilians are starting to wake up.
The Alcântara Quilombo communities will lose their land to an American space center. In short, Maranhão is the best place to launch rockets in the world because it sits right on the equator. Well Bolsonaro signed an agreement with Trump to GIVE the American more land to create a space center there in exchange for money. If Trump is reelected, Bolsonaro will likely continue in this agreement and black communities will be pushed out.
Brazil's conservative mayoral and councilperson candidates will win big.Every city in Brazil is holding municipal elections on November 15. If Trump wins, I predict that far-right candidates will gain even more votes and win even more seats.
According to Carlos Bolsonaro, America means freedom.
The Amazon will continue to BURN. Thus far Trump has not intervened with Bolsonaro to get him to save Indigenous communities and the Amazon forest. This will only continue with a Trump win.
If Biden is elected:
Black and Brown politicians in Brazil will win more votes. If Biden wins, I also think the euphoria of black and brown people in the US will positively rub off on electors and the leftist and liberal candidates. I could see this really helping a candidate like Benedita da Silva, a black woman who is running for mayor of Rio de Janeiro. Like I said earlier, Brazilians follow America’s lead. In this case, that is a good thing.
Brazil’s Human rights abuses won’t go unnoticed. America has its own issues with human rights abuses. But with the democrats in power in the Senate, Presidency and the Congress, Brazil will have a major power “cobrando ele.”
I didn’t expect Brazil to factor in too heavily in anyone’s voting decision. But we still need to understand how our voting decisions will affect the Black Diaspora. Black Brazilians can’t afford another Trump, nor Bolsonaro presidency.
In more positive news, I encourage you to sign up for the November 4 event below with samba legend Martinho da Vila. Click on the image for more information.
Do you know Singer/Songwriter Martinho da Vila? He is coming back on Nov. 4 for a Master Class just for you! You will leave inspired! In addition to being one of the great representatives in the samba world of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, @martinhodavilaoficial is Ambassador of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), author of 15 books and at the age of 80 he attended the College of International Relations!
In this master class, he will talk about some of his books and song compositions while exchanging wonderful energies with the public.
Don’t miss it! Get your tickets in the link below!
Have a great election night!
Astute analysis. Brilliant article.