Jeffrey Lesser, Director of the Halle Institute for Global Research and Learning and Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of History, recently commented about a leading candidate in Brazil’s 2018 presidential election for a Time magazine article. Read an excerpt below in addition to the full article by Matt Sandy, “Jair Bolsonaro Loves Trump, Hates Gay People and Admires Autocrats. He Could Be Brazil’s Next President.”

Despite Bolsonaro’s prior support for military rule, analysts agree that a coup is unlikely in Brazil. But few believe the country would be unaffected by a Bolsonaro presidency. “[It] would be revolutionary for contemporary Brazilian society,” says Jeffrey Lesser, director of the Halle Institute for Global Research and Learning at Emory University. “There is little doubt that if elected, he would seek to diminish checks and balances.”