Brazilian general election of 2018

Brazil’s national election on 7 and 28 October 2018 chose Jair Bolsonaro as president and renewed seats in Congress, state governments, and legislatures.

Jair Bolsonaro: Brazilian politician who served as president from 2019 to 2022. He won the presidency after campaigning on public security, conservative values, and anti-establishment politics.
Two-round system: An electoral system in which a runoff is held when no candidate wins the required first-round majority. Bolsonaro and Haddad advanced because neither won an outright majority in the first round.
Operation Car Wash: A Brazilian corruption investigation launched in 2014 that exposed extensive bribery and money laundering networks. Its revelations damaged major parties and made anti-corruption rhetoric central to the campaign.
Bolsonaro government: The Brazilian federal administration led by Jair Bolsonaro from 2019 to 2022. It translated the election victory into a presidency marked by conservative reforms and institutional conflict.
Fernando Haddad: Brazilian academic and politician who served as mayor of São Paulo and minister of education. He replaced Lula as the Workers’ Party candidate and faced Bolsonaro in the runoff.
Open-list proportional representation: An electoral system in which parties win seats proportionally and voters influence which party candidates fill them. Brazil used it to elect federal and state legislative representatives.
Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff: The 2016 removal of Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff from office after an impeachment trial. The impeachment deepened polarization and weakened the Workers’ Party before the election.
Political polarization in Brazil: The intensifying division of Brazilian politics into opposing camps, especially around the Workers’ Party and Bolsonaro. The campaign both reflected and intensified divisions that persisted after the vote.
Lula da Silva: Brazilian politician who served as president from 2003 to 2010 and again from 2023. His imprisonment and disqualification reshaped the Workers’ Party’s campaign and candidate choice.
Brazilian Chamber of Deputies: The lower house of Brazil’s National Congress, elected through proportional representation. The election fragmented its party composition, complicating Bolsonaro’s path to legislation.

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