In the bellwether state of Minas Gerais, Flávio Bolsonaro campaigns beneath the shadow of his imprisoned father, seeking to inherit both a political movement and the power to reshape Brazil's courts, laws, and social fabric. With incumbent Lula running nearly even and momentum shifting, a nation of 200 million stands at a familiar crossroads — between the promise of democratic continuity and the pull of authoritarian nostalgia. History has a way of returning to the places where it was made, and Juiz de Fora, where a knife once changed an election, may yet again hold the balance of a democracy
Brazil's far right surges as Flávio Bolsonaro courts voters in bellwether state
Potential return to authoritarian governance threatens minorities, particularly Black and LGBTQ+ Brazilians, and could reverse social programs that enabled educational access for working-class citizens.