I'm of two minds on Brazil's presidential elections.
On one hand, I'm glad Jair Bolsonaro was defeated at the polls.
On the other hand, I'm not happy that Lula da Silva is returning to office.
Bolsonaro not only presided over one of the worst responses to COVID-19 in the entire world he engaged in outright COVID denialism. The result is nearly 700,000 deaths (687,962) - second only to the United States. That is his legacy.
Yet as horrible as Bolsonaro is, the return of Lula doesn't inspire my confidence. Aside from his history of corruption, he is also a man who welcomes Holocaust deniers with open arms and who can say he wouldn't welcome closer ties with Iran even as protests sweep that country. Yet for all of Bolsonaro's pro-Israel bonafides it isn't his place to say the Holocaust can be forgiven especially for someone who embraces neo-Nazis.
I would agree that Bolsonaro is the most dangerous of the two especially if he decides to pull a Trump and refuse to concede the election. But a less dangerous Lulu doesn't mean he isn't dangerous at all.
For Brazilian Jews, the choice between Lula and Bolsonaro is the choice between the cross and the sword. In other words, there is no choice at all. The nicest thing I can say about them is they are a couple of Brazil Nuts.
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