Institute of Politics

Brazil, the largest democracy and economy in Latin America, has faced unprecedented political turbulence over the past decade, sparked by the divisive impeachment of former President Rousseff in 2016 and the election of Jair Bolsonaro, who has made repeated challenges to the constitutional order since taking office in 2019.

Increased polarization, aided by mobilized social-media influencers and fake news outlets have led to political violence, culminating in a highly contested and consequential election. Rousseff, Brazil’s first female president, will discuss the prospects for safeguarding and strengthening the democratic rule of law in Brazil, the connections between Bolsonarism and Trumpism and the fate of democracy in an age of polarization and more.

In conversation with Simon Romero, national correspondent for The New York Times, who previously served as the paper’s Brazil bureau chief.

This is the capstone event of the Center for Latin American Studies series, “The Outlook for Brazilian Democracy,” in collaboration with the IOP and UChicago Global.