CBS News: Eric Farnsworth on the Brazilian Presidential Election

AS/COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth spoke to CBS News' Nikki Batiste and Elaine Quijano about the Brazilian presidential elections. The incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro faces off against former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 

"It's a really important election in the history of Brazil for several reasons. Brazil's a relatively young democracy and the institutions of democracy have been questioned in this election cycle, not the least of which by one of the leading candidates, the current President Jair Bolsonaro," said Farnsworth. "There's a real question in terms of the democratic institutions and their ability to hold as the largest democracy of Latin America and one of the largest democracies in the world."

Farnsworth said the second reason the election is important is because of global climate change. "Brazil maintains sovereignty over the vast majority of the Amazon,  and the policies of the two leading candidates are dramatically different in terms of Amazon protections. That clearly is going to impact going down the road."

When asked about challenges that Bolsonaro faces as an incumbent, Farnsworth replied, "He has presided over Brazil's response to the Covid pandemic crisis, which hit Brazil particularly hard. He has a sluggish economy. Inflation has been high, and the Central Bank has been forced to raise interest rates, so that's hitting consumers…In other words, middle and lower classes in Brazil have been hit particularly hard."

Farnsworth said that da Silva was president from 2003 to 2010, which was a time of particular strength in Brazil's economy, adding that, "When commodities prices were high, he was president, he took advantage. Poverty was decreasing; many people remember that." However, Farnsworth cited da Silva's party, the Worker's Party, being accused of corruption as a challenge for Lula.

Watch the full interview.