If Lula loses, BRICS could face its biggest political test yet

The right-wing shift in South America is not here to stay. Fyodor Lukyanov on Brazil’s presidential election and what it could mean for BRICS Flavio Bolsonaro, the right-wing senator and son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro, emerged victorious from the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, and commentators now suggest that the incumbent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, may struggle to catch him in the second round.If they’re correct, Brazil will become the latest country to join Latin America’s shift to the right.The Brazilian story, adapted to local circumstances, bears a striking resemblance to the American experience with Donald Trump. After the turbulent presidency of Bolsonaro senior, a representative of the moderate left returned to power, while attempts were made to remove the former president from political life for good.In the United States, Trump was fiercely condemned as the instigator of an attempted coup, although criminal proceedings against him ultimately failed to prevent his return to power. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro was convicted, but his son took up the torch and now the family may be returning to power, accompanied by promises to settle accounts...