The disruptive election

Required reading to understand not only Jair Bolsonaro's election, but also Brazil today.

The 2018 presidential election, a landmark in Brazilian politics, is the topic under analysis in this article , "The Disruptive Election: Why Bolsonaro Won ." We saw the victory of a candidate who, according to most analysts and political leaders, had little chance of winning. We also witnessed the end of the long national political cycle dominated by the rivalry between the Workers' Party (PT) and the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).

Anti-PT sentiment proved to be a much more mobilized social force in the 2018 campaign, and the "Lava Jato Party" proved to be larger than Lulism. This was the true clash of this election: the dispute between Lulism and the "Lava Jato Party," which embodied the "being against everything that exists" approach, replacing the old polarization between the Workers' Party (PT) and the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). This "party" not only elected Jair Bolsonaro but also spearheaded a wave of renewal in Congress unprecedented in our recent history, relegating the large party structures inherited from the New Republic, such as the MDB, PSDB, and DEM, to the status of mid-sized parties.

Maurício Moura and Juliano Corbellini managed the feat of explaining the election results simply—which is not easy—through two essential questions: 1) What were the voters' main desires? and 2) How were they getting their information?

Using opinion poll data and a thorough analysis of the historical context, *The Disruptive Election: Why Bolsonaro Won* argues that issues related to corruption and security, and anger against "everything that's out there," shaped much of the electorate's desires. Furthermore, they explain how the use of social media and WhatsApp redefined the way voters began to inform themselves. This analysis reveals the paradox of Bolsonaro's election despite a lack of resources and support, and also highlights why the authors were among the very small group that predicted the candidate's victory long before the election began.