Dec 13, 2022
Interviewer: MELISSA TEIXEIRA. Author, journalist, and 2022-23 Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies MARILENE FILENTO reflects on the recent national election in Brazil that brought former president Lula da Silva back into power. In her discussion with Penn Assistant Professor of History Melissa Teixeira, she describes the response to Lula’s victory over the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro – both the ecstasy on the left and the potential violence from the right. She also considers the prospects for Lula’s presidency, the coalition that backed Bolsonaro, and Brazilian democracy more broadly.