Brazil joins the list of autocratic countries, that is, countries with dictatorships.
With the election of Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency last October, Brazil was added to the Human Rights Watch (HRW) list of countries governed by autocratic leaders in 2019; in the report, Bolsonaro is described as "a man who, at great risk to public safety, openly encourages the use of lethal force by police and members of the Armed Forces in a country already devastated by a high rate of homicides caused by police forces and more than 60.000 homicides per year."
247 - With the election of Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency of the Republic last October, Brazil was added to the Human Rights Watch (HRW) list of countries governed by autocratic leaders in 2019. His name appears alongside Nicolás Maduro, president of Venezuela, and Recep Erdogan, of Turkey.
In the 2019 World Human Rights Report, Bolsonaro is described as "a man who, at great risk to public safety, openly encourages the use of lethal force by police and members of the Armed Forces in a country already devastated by a high rate of homicides caused by police forces and more than 60.000 homicides per year."
The document contains other negative information about Brazil, highlighting the assassination of councilwoman Marielle Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes, in March of last year, as well as the record 64.000 homicides registered in 2017.
The threat to press freedom is highlighted, exemplified by Bolsonaro's statement threatening to cut advertising funds to media outlets that behave in an "undignified" manner.