Brazil Pulled Back from the Brink of Fascism. Can We Do What They Did?

There are a lot of reasons to love Brazil. The music. The literature. The unapologetic joy of Carnival. The Afro-Brazilian spiritual traditions that survived colonialism with more soul than most democracies. Feijoada. The architecture of Oscar Niemeyer. The Amazon (what's left of it). The fact that soccer is basically a religion, and they’re damn good at it.

But today, I’m looking at Brazil and admiring something even more dazzling than Anitta: their ability to pull themselves back from the brink of authoritarianism. They stared down fascism, just like we are now—and blinked last.

A bunch of smartypants historians and democracy whisperers—Sarah Kendzior, Jason Stanley, Timothy "Yes-I-do-own-all-those-scarves" Snyder—have been pointing to Brazil like, "Hey look, it's not all doom and ALL CAPS TRUMPISMS. Some people did beat back fascism in the face of a hateful moron who was a helluva lot like our current hateful moron. Maybe we can, too."

But can we?

Let’s talk about it.

Trump’s Buddy Bolsonaro: Same Shit, Different Toilet

First, a Bolsonaro primer. I will need to take an anti-nausea drug first, because Bolsonaro is disgusting.

Imagine Trump, but with more military cosplay and a deeper appreciation for dictator nostalgia. That’s Bolsonaro. I'll never be able to explain it rationally, but he looks to me like a guy who uses roach spray on his hair.

He also:

• Praised Brazil’s old dictatorship like it was his family’s finest heirloom.

• Let the Amazon burn because trees were getting uppity.

• Treated COVID like a PR inconvenience instead of a mass casualty event.

• Undermined elections, packed courts, and winked at the generals.

• Lost re-election. Whined louder than a leaf blower convention. Then his supporters trashed government buildings like toddlers on Red Bull.

Basically, Bolsonaro was Trump in a tropical suit with a messiah complex and the mind-fucking look of an evil Carl Sagan.

So How Did Brazil Pull It Off?

Brazil said, “Not today, fascismo.” Here's how:

• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (aka Lula), a far-left former union leader who served as Brazil's president from 2003 to 2010, came back from a prison sentence that was later exposed as politically motivated. (Don’t worry, we’ll start seeing Trump pull this kind of stunt soon enough; I’m guessing he’ll start with Kamala Harris.) He was locked up on trumped-up corruption charges—only to be freed, vindicated, and re-elected like the finale of a telenovela nobody saw coming.

• Coalition time: Lula grabbed hands with centrists, rivals, exes, frenemies—anyone not actively setting fire to the constitution.

• The courts held – mostly because Bolsonaro hadn’t gotten around to stuffing them with cronies in tasled loafers. (Here’s where the USA deviates from the Bolsonaro model; Trump made sure the Supreme Court was stacked with cronies this time around.)

• The electoral commission grew a spine, said “no thanks” to fake news, and ran an election like grown-ups.

• People hit the streets because when the air smells like Bolsonaro, you don’t stay home lighting scented candles.

• Accountability: The January 8 rioters? Clink. Bolsonaro? Banned from office until 2030, when he’ll be old enough to try his hand at gardening or crimes that don’t involve overthrowing democracy.

They didn’t just vote him out. They treated him like asbestos—dangerous, lingering, and overdue for removal.

Of course, Trump’s FDA is considering designating asbestos as safe again. No, I’m not kidding.

Meanwhile, in the Good Ol' U.S. of A...

We can’t do any of that stuff. I wish we could. But we can’t follow Brazil’s example.

Why not?

Because we are currently being held hostage by a sentient Big Mac who golfs like ethnic cleansing is a leisure sport.

• Trump owns SCOTUS like it’s a suspiciously tax-sheltered vacation home—except in this case, the property is your civil rights and it comes with a lifetime appointment. For readers not fluent in U.S. civics: the federal government is supposed to operate with three co-equal branches. In practice, under Trump 2.0, all three have been captured by sycophants, yes-men, and ideological extremists.

• Republicans aren't a party anymore; they're a loyalty cult with discount codes.

• Red states are mini theocracies now. Think Handmaid’s Tale meets Cracker Barrel, with bonus AR-15s in the church vestibule.

• Democrats keep bringing tote bags to gunfights. With snacks. Half the party is trying to fix the roof while the other half is wondering where the fire started. Spoiler: it's in the walls.

• The DNC is still playing ideological Twister in a thunderstorm. They keep chasing the center while the floor collapses beneath them. They keep alienating the far left even though leftist populism is the ONLY thing that can defeat far-right fake populism.

• Our sleepwalking media still calls fascism "a provocative political pivot." Because six corporations own almost every “news” media outlet, and none of them profit from the truth.

Ten Ways You Know You Live in a Fascist Makeover Montage

Just in case you think it’s hyperbole to call what’s happening in the United States under Trump right now fascism, please note:

1. Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” passed: $75 billion for ICE. Oversight? About as present as vegetables on a Trump dinner plate.

2. Latinos are the new scapegoat starter kit. Tom Homan admitted ICE is profiling by “how they look.” Voto Latino is livid. The damage is done.

3. Detention camps are here. “Alligator Alcatraz” opened in South Florida. No water. No Bibles. No due process. Just heat, fear, and trauma.

4. The DOJ is now a revenge weapon. Pam Bondi is firing staffers, targeting Trump critics, and launching investigations into ActBlue. Legal intimidation is the new MAGA merch.

5. Jan 6 rioters got pardons—and gigs. Some are now influencers or GOP candidates. America: where coups get resumes.

6. Civil servants are being purged like it’s a loyalty blood drive. If you don't worship Dear Leader, don't unpack your desk.

7. The 10% national tariff is active. Small businesses and working-class people are getting crushed. Pain is the point.

8. Voting rights are disappearing like Blockbuster franchises. Voter rolls purged. Polling places closed. IDs required. Justice denied.

9. Trump claims absolute executive immunity. Yes, including for crimes committed in office. Can you get immunity for being late to brunch too?

10. He’s now openly genocidal. “Vermin.” “Mass deportations.” “Birthright revocations.” He’s not whispering—he’s mic’d up.

So What the Hell Can We Do? (Legally. For Now.)

• Organize locally—school boards, city councils, tenants unions. Authoritarian weeds grow fast. Uproot them early.

• Build mutual aid. Food shares. Rides. Rent support. Real solidarity. Not charity—community. Google “mutual aid [your city]” or start one with your neighbors.

• Take to the streets. Peacefully. Strategically. Loudly. Civil disobedience with a plan. And a composting toilet.

• Support real journalism. Including spicy newsletters. Like this one. With money. Courage isn’t free. Neither is rent.

• Make blue states sanctuaries. Don’t just legislate—shield. Offer refuge. Fund defense. Get loud.

• Sue strategically. Class actions. Pro bono defense. Hit 'em in the paperwork. But only if you have resources and backup.

• Document everything. Save screenshots. Back up files. Record abuse. Whistleblowers need receipts.

• Don’t be polite about fascism. It doesn’t care about your tone. Loud truth is better than quiet complicity.

• Leave platforms that platform fascists. X, Facebook, YouTube—there are better places. Use the megaphones that don’t sell ads for fascists.

• Vote like you're reclaiming custody of reality. Even in a rigged system, overwhelming turnout and scrutiny can matter. It’s not everything, but it’s something.

But Let’s Be Real: Most Countries Don’t Peacefully Escape This Kind of Shit Easily. Some Never Escape At All.

Argentina. Chile. Germany. Spain. Iran. Russia. Uganda.

You know what they had in common? They all waited too long.

Note: We are waiting too long right now.

They mistook denial for hope. We’re doing the same. Laughing when we should be mobilizing. And by the time most people realize what’s happening, it won’t be a warning—it’ll be a eulogy.

I Wanted This Newsletter to Be Hopeful

I really did. I wanted us to be Brazil in this story. But the truth is: we are not Brazil.

They had functional institutions. Courts that held. People who flooded the streets.

We have a captured Supreme Court. Billionaire-owned media. And a general sense that we are protected by a Constitution these fuckers do not respect at all.

We’re not late-stage Brazil. We’re late-stage Weimar.

I don’t know if we can walk this back easily anymore—and to be crystal clear, that’s not a threat. It’s a fear. A deep, terrible fear based on history. I’m not advocating violence; I’m saying the longer we wait, the more inevitable that choice becomes. I’m begging us to do everything we legally, peacefully, collectively can to avoid it. NOW.

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