Intersectionality and the Election of Bolsonaro

Abstract

News coverage of Jair Bolsonaro’s 2018 presidential campaign routinely focused on his misogynistic, homophobic, and racist rhetoric.  He derided women and Afro-Brazilians, even though both groups are majorities of the Brazilian population. Notwithstanding his offensive rhetoric, Bolsonaro was elected president with significant support from both members of both groups. In this paper, we use public opinion data to investigate why women and Afro-Brazilians voted for him.  Informed by intersectionality research, we explore why individuals voted for him. The results of a quantitative analysis point to important distinctions among women and Afro-Brazilians.  In particular, our results show that Afro-Brazilian women were least likely to support him. These results underscore the importance of using an intersectional perspective to understand political behavior in Brazil.