The political rise of the far right in South America

a study of the cases of Brazil and Argentina

Abstract

The present work aims to understand the rise of ultra-rightist leaders in South America, focusing on analyzing the political, economic and social situation that led to the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil in 2018 and Javier Milei as president of Argentina in 2023. Methodologically It was decided to carry out a broad bibliographical review on the topic. From the authors studied, it is possible to verify that the rise of these leaders can be understood based on factors common to both countries. In both cases, popular dissatisfaction, the crisis of representation and anti-system rhetoric were fundamental. The lack of trust in traditional political elites and the perception that democratic systems were not meeting the needs of the population contributed to support for these leaders, who presented themselves as “outside the system” alternatives. Faced with this current reality, both Bolsonaro and Milei used social networks strategically to expand their support bases, taking advantage of the popularity of these platforms to communicate directly with the population and bypass traditional media. In terms of content, the proposals of both leaders reflected the typical characteristics of the ultra-right, Bolsonaro stood out for his conservative positions in relation to moral values ​​and public security, while Milei adopted a stance more focused on the ultra-liberal economy. It is concluded that the success of ultra-right leaders in South America reflects a context of widespread dissatisfaction with traditional politics, where the use of social networks and anti-system discourse were key elements in consolidating their electoral bases.