Brazil has a long and complicated history with fascism, going back to the early 20th century. Far-right and white supremacist groups have been emboldened by President Jair Bolsonaro—with some members of his own cabinet openly sporting Nazi tattoos. They’ve unleashed online attacks, pushed fake news and misinformation in favor of Bolsonaro, and they’ve threatened Brazil’s Supreme Court and its justices. But the country’s top court is pushing back.

In this episode, we look at Brazil’s troubled past of reactionary fascist forces, and how Bolsonaro’s rise unleashed them anew.

This is Brazil on Fire, a podcast about Brazil’s descent toward fascism under President Jair Bolsonaro. Over these six episodes we look at Bolsonaro’s far-right government that has set the country ablaze, and how the United States helped him do it. We’ll visit the birthplace of Brazilian Nazism, evangelical churches, and Indigenous villages in the Amazon.

Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.

This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Sound design by Gustavo Türck: @coletivocatarse
Theme music by Monte Perdido: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0nexDyQCZI89JH8zsYu5wa?si=jo6-l1wiSrGmDkxyCA_cow

Portions of today’s episode were previously aired in a series on nationalism and religion produced by Michael Fox for PRI’s The World. You can find that, and more, at https://theworld.org/categories/sacred-nation

Follow Brazil on Fire at The Real News Network: https://therealnews.com/brazil-on-fire-pod

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