Is Brazil heading for a constitutional crisis?
The Inquiry
BBC
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 30 September 2021
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The President of Brazil is reluctant to play by the rules. Elections are due next year and Bolsonaro is increasingly at loggerheads with his country’s democratic system. Between battles with the Supreme Court and a push to change the voting system, he is willing to go to great lengths to secure a second term.
Tanya Beckett takes a closer look at Brazil’s politics and whether the country’s constitution is being tested.
Researcher: Natasha Fernandes
Editor: Richard Vadon
(Bolsonaro waves to supporters during a demonstration on Brazil's Independence Day, 7th Sept 2021 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Credit: Alexandre Schneider /Getty Images)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the inquiry with me, Tanya Beckett. |
| 0:05.0 | Each week, one question for expert witnesses and an answer. |
| 0:14.0 | It was Independence Day. |
| 0:16.0 | The crowds were in their thousands. |
| 0:19.0 | Supporters dressed in the national colours, waved flags and cheered |
| 0:24.0 | as their president faced with falling popularity, |
| 0:27.0 | spoke out with determination and authority. |
| 0:36.0 | The voting system used in presidential elections was open to fraud, he said, |
| 0:41.0 | and if it was not declared the winner, he would reject the results. |
| 0:48.0 | The president also claimed he was being attacked by the courts, |
| 0:52.0 | but he was ready to fight back. |
| 0:56.0 | This may all sound like the rhetoric of Donald Trump |
| 1:00.0 | during his presidential campaign last year, |
| 1:03.0 | but in fact, they're the words of the leader of a different country. |
| 1:07.0 | The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro. |
| 1:12.0 | Over the last few months, his criticisms of the Brazilian Supreme Court |
| 1:17.0 | have become more and more extreme, |
| 1:20.0 | so with an election coming up next year. |
| 1:23.0 | This week, we're asking, is Brazil heading for a constitutional crisis? |
| 1:34.0 | Part one, the people's leader. |
| 1:38.0 | Our first expert witness is Leonardo Avritsa, |
| 1:42.0 | professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais University in Brazil. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.