The Lesser of Two Evils

We are in the middle of presidential elections in Brazil, and this is the time when all hell breaks loose. People all over the country start arguing and fighting about politics, to the point that friendships end and families are torn apart, simply because they support different candidates. It's amazing how every 4 years, people become like animals and forget how to listen to each other.

The first round of the election happened on October 4th, and there were 12 candidates running for president; however, only two of them received a significant number of votes: 47% voted for the far-right candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, and 45% voted for the far-left candidate, Lula da Silva. That means our country is heavily divided between the two most extreme candidates, and only the remaining 8% of us are actually smart enough to see past their bullshit.

I personally voted for Augusto Cury, a writer and doctor. He has no political background; however, he is highly educated, and that's exactly the kind of leader our nation needs. Not professional liars like the ones we had before, but someone who is intelligent and actually has proposals to make our country better. But he, along with other smart candidates, lost in the first round.

Now we are heading toward the second round, and members of that 8%, like me, will have to choose between the two worst options, and whoever wins will leave half of the country pissed off. So let's take a look at the options we have:

On one side, we have Lula, the current president of Brazil. He didn't do anything for the people during his term and decided to do a few things two months before the election to promote himself. On the other side, we have Flávio; he is currently a senator and the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. He is currently under investigation for corruption, and honestly, I had never heard his name before this election.

Despite the ongoing investigations related to Flávio, President Lula was already convicted of corruption years ago. He went to jail and was only released a year and a half later due to a controversial decision made by the Supreme Court. This same court was responsible for arresting Jair Bolsonaro because of a coup d'état that never really happened, so they definitely have a political bias toward the left.

I don't support the extremists on either side, but I despise the Brazilian left. Not because of the things they stand for, but because of their lies and hypocrisy. Lula and his allies have held the presidency since 2002, with a brief pause when Jair won the 2018 election, and in the 20 years they've been in power, things haven't changed that much.

The leftists are very good at making propaganda, but not so good when it comes to ruling our country. The amount of taxes we have in Brazil is insane, and during Lula's last term, it has only gone up. But we have to admit that he's a good politician: he's been lying to the people for over two decades, and somehow he still manages to convince them.

As for Flávio, he is far from being my first choice, but we need change. Everyone wants our country to be better, and yet they vote for the same people every election. That's another thing about the Brazilian people: they are too afraid to leave their comfort zone, they prefer voting for familiar faces instead of giving a chance to new people. But as I always say, without change, there can be no progress.

Flávio has never been president, and there's no way to tell if he's going to be more competent than Lula. However, he is more qualified: he has a law degree and an MBA, while Lula doesn't have a degree in anything. He still hasn't proven his worth, but Lula has proven many times that he is unworthy—and that's why I'm voting for Flávio in the second round.