Re: ‘The Right’s Ill-Conceived Bolsonaro Gambit’

In his latest Corner post, Bobby Miller argues:

I am no fan of de Silva. Contrary to the lies perpetuated by many in the mainstream media, his corrupt, socialist administration did not produce an economic miracle. In fact, his few successes owe as much to the right as they do to the left. But de Silva’s recent overtures to the business community are a welcome sign. It’s a tough choice, and de Silva will hardly be perfect. But there’s a good chance he will be better for American interests than Bolsonaro.

Surely, Bobby doesn’t think de Lula, an avowed leftist whose candidacy was endorsed by Brazil’s Socialism and Freedom Party (PSOL), the Stalinists of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), the Morenoites of the Unified Socialist Workers Party (PSTU), and a variety of other Communist-adjacent groups in the nation, is more pro-business than Bolsonaro. But he doesn’t provide any other answers for as to why he thinks the leftist is preferable, from the perspective of U.S. interests, to Bolsonaro — other than the fact that he dislikes the American conservatives who like Bolsonaro. The one other criticism he makes of Bolsonaro is that the Brazilian president grew more friendly to China over the course of his time in office. Okay. Here are a few recent headlines on Lula’s express foreign-policy ambitions in office:

You don’t have to like Bolsonaro — there’s plenty the Brazilian president has done that merits critique. But that critique is largely discredited when you contort yourself into arguing that avowed leftists are preferable, simply because you feel that Bolsonaro is liked by the “wrong kind” of people here in the U.S.