After years of corrupt presidents from the same party, last Sunday the people of Brazil voted for change in the presidential election. In such circumstances, a desire for change is understandable except that they elected a far-right candidate named Jair Bolsonaro over leftist candidate Haddad, and who is so controversial that he is worthy of comment.

Bolsonaro ran on a platform to reduce crime by promising legislation to make guns more easily available to people in a country that has the highest murder rate in the world as well as to make it easier for the police to kill people. Bolsonaro is a Trumpite, and Donald Trump was one of the first persons to congratulate him on his victory.

Some of his famous controversial quotes are:

• On women, he told a congresswoman, “I would not rape you; you don’t deserve it because you are too ugly.” (2014)

• Feminism: “I’ve got five kids, but on the fifth I had a moment of weakness and it came out of a woman” (2017)

• Human rights: “I am in favour of torture.” (1999)

• Life: “The dictatorship’s mistake was to torture but not kill.” (2016) [During the 1960s and 1970’s Brazil had a military dictatorship.]

• On killing while speaking about the other political party (PT: The Workers’ Party): “We are going to shoot the PT supporters in Acre.” (2017)

• Race: On blacks — “They do nothing and are not even good for procreation.” (2017)

• On sexual orientation: “I am incapable of loving a homosexual son.” (2011)

• Immigration: “The scum of the Earth is showing up in Brazil.” (2015)

• Elections: “They don’t change anything…it will only change with a civil war killing 30,000 people. And, if innocent people die, that’s fine.” (1999)

• On religion: “God above all…the State is Christian and those who are against it can leave.” (2017)

The last quote is the most telling because in it he wraps his poison in Christianity with the belief that he is fulfilling God’s will, â la Adolf Hitler, who said he was acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator.

There is a saying for what Brazilian voters did last Sunday. It says: “You jump from the frying pan into the fire.”

But what drives people to vote for someone like this? The economic recession in Brazil ended in 2017 and the economy has since started to grow. In times of economic growth the identity politics of the far-right is more credible than the social policies of the left. This, coupled with the political crisis of corruption in government, is no doubt to blame.

Victor A Dixon is an author who lives in Boynton Beach, Florida. Send comments to the Observer or victoradixon@yahoo.com.