Why Brazilian Women Support Jair Bolsonaro | The Dispatch

Copacabana. This world-class beach is now party central for Brazil’s far right. Weekly rallies here celebrate the movement’s rising star and and now future president, Jair Bolsonaro.

If you know anything about Bolsonaro, you likely know that he’s made some pretty outrageous remarks, such as calling a fellow lawmaker too ugly to rape — — and supporting torture. You may also know that women have come out en masse to oppose Bolsonaro, taking to the streets across Brazil under the banner of Ele Não, or “Not Him. ” But what may be surprising is that almost as many women support Bolsonaro.

He’s polarized the entire country, but women seem especially divided about him. His signature gun gesture here hints at a key reason why. In 1964, women marched against communist reforms, setting the stage for a military coup.

Twenty-one years of dictatorship followed. Hundreds of dissidents were killed, and thousands were tortured. Jair Bolsonaro, a former Army captain, is an open admirer of the dictatorship.

His only criticism: They didn’t kill enough people. At Bolsonaro rallies, people reminisce about the role women played in calling for the coup. Crime — and especially violent crime — is a huge problem in Brazil.

Last year, nearly 64,000 people were murdered. Bolsonaro himself was stabbed in the stomach while campaigning. His popularity surged afterward.

To understand how fear of crime is driving Bolsonaro’s popularity, we went to meet Sara Winter. She used to be a pro-choice activist. Now she’s pro-life, and describes herself as a “cured feminist.

” She’s been mobilizing her Facebook followers to show their support for Bolsonaro. Walking the streets of Rio, we hear similar views. Sofia Caputo voted for the left in the last four elections and now supports Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro has seized on people’s fears to justify iron-fisted policing tactics. His pitch isn’t exactly new. The military already polices Rio’s poorest neighborhoods.

We embed with Lt. Commander Enrique Amaral — — as he prepares to lead soldiers through the Babilonia favela. His battalion is part of a federal intervention started earlier this year to crack down on crime.

Soldiers are looking for guns and gang members. But really anyone can be a suspect. It’s like stop and frisk with M-16s.

They see a young man who turns away. The young man stops. He’s standing right outside his house.

His name is Renan, and his mother is fuming. Renan was let go. But his mother has reason to be scared.

Security forces have killed over 1,000 people in Rio since the federal takeover began. That’s a 42% increase from last year. And those killed are mostly young men.

It’s why many women here — many mothers — fear Bolsonaro. He wants to ramp up the military’s role, give police and soldiers more power with less accountability. Her son was 14 years old.

He was shot on his way to school. What’s at stake in this election for you? But outside the war zone in the favelas, there’s less concern about the cost of fighting violence with more violence.

Bolsonaro also wants to make it easier to buy guns, and that resonates with a lot of middle and upper class people worried about a spike in robberies. One woman, Katia Sastre, became a poster child for self-defense. In March, Sastre was with her daughter at a school Mother’s Day event standing outside when a young man walked up and tried to rob them at gunpoint.

Sastre, off duty at the time, was recorded on CCTV shooting the gunman three times point blank. He died. The video went viral, and she became an overnight sensation.

Soon after, Sastre ran for Congress — — and won by a landslide. The gunman’s family is now suing Sastre for replaying the moment of their son’s death in her campaign. His name was Elivelton Neves, I believe.

He was 21. His family has responded. Do you regret using that video at all?

Fear, crime and security. Like Donald Trump in the U. S.

, Bolsonaro has campaigned on these issues. Bolsonaro wants people to believe that his militaristic — some say “fascist” — agenda can solve all of Brazil’s problems. Bolsonaro’s supporters want change.

They want a new approach. But at what cost for Brazl’s democracy? Enough women, and men, appear willing to find out.