美国国家公共电台 NPR Brazil To Go To The Polls Amid A Surge Of The Far Right

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

If you have been monitoring the rise of populist nationalism around the world, you can now turn attention to Brazil. Brazilians will be voting for their next president on Sunday, and the candidates include Jair Bolsonaro. He's a retired¹ army captain. He is surging ahead in the polls, and he's running from the far-right. NPR's Philip Reeves has been monitoring this moment in Brazil, and he joins us on the line from Rio de Janeiro this morning. Hi, Phil.

PHILIP REEVES, BYLINE²: Hi.

GREENE: So what can you tell us about this man?

REEVES: Well, he positions himself as an outsider, but he's actually a veteran congressman³. He spent 25 years - more than 25 years, actually, in Congress. Until recently, he was a pretty marginal figure. He's not any longer, though. He's age 63. He's close to the military, and he's a divisive figure. He has a record of making offensive remarks about the LGBT community, about black Brazilians and about women who took to the streets, David, in huge numbers last weekend, summoned there by women's group - campaigning online and using the hashtag #NotHim (ph). Now, one of the messages that came from those demonstrations⁴ is that people are worried that Bolsonaro will take Brazil back to the era when it was a military dictatorship. That dictatorship ended in 1985, and Bolsonaro has frequently expressed admiration⁵ for it.

GREENE: Wow. So despite those warnings about where he might take the country, though, it sounds like - I mean, he's been surging in the polls and has a pretty good shot of becoming president, right?

REEVES: Yes. I mean, until now, people have been saying that, you know, he would - he was ahead in the - this race, but it would go to a second round runoff between the top two candidates and that he would probably lose that. They'd use the poll as evidence to back that argument. But the latest poll show this big surge. In fact, yesterday there was a poll showing him 13 points ahead. It's still unlikely that there won't be a second round, that he'll win outright⁶. But people - some commentators⁷ are beginning to say that could happen, which if it did happen would be a political earthquake.

GREENE: So a political earthquake achieved by a man who you have said is divisive - I mean, you say is very controversial. I mean, these protests by women saying, I mean, terrible things about him. What do people like about him? What can we attribute this rise in the polls to?

REEVES: Well, I think people here crave⁸ law and order particularly. I mean, if you talk to middle-class educated Brazilians, a lot of them say, look, we feel we have no choice. They've lost faith in the political system here. There's been this massive corruption⁹ scandal that's rolling on. It's exposed top executives and particularly top politicians as crooks¹⁰, and that's really corroded¹¹ their faith in the political establishment. And people are also, David, really worried about crime. I mean, if you watch the TV or look at your WhatsApp groups, there's endless pictures of gangsters¹² blowing up bank machines and attacking people. This country had more than 60,000 homicides last year.

And so along comes Bolsonaro, and he talks about packing his cabinet with generals. He talks about giving guns to the public or at least allowing the public to bear arms. And he praises the police for using lethal¹³ force. And people are turning to him, seeing him as, you know, the only option in desperate times. He's also done a very good job, I must say, of vilifying¹⁴ his opponents. Bolsonaro has spent more than three weeks of his campaign in hospital after being stabbed a month ago. He's now out. But during that time, his campaign have been pounding hard at his main opponent, who is from the leftist Workers’ Party, Fernando Haddad. And they've been attacking him hard.

GREENE: NPR's Philip Reeves. Thanks, Phil.

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

4 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

5 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

6 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

7 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 crooks   

n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The police are getting after the crooks in the city. 警察在城里追捕小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cops got the crooks. 警察捉到了那些罪犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 corroded   

已被腐蚀的

参考例句：

• Rust has corroded the steel rails. 锈侵蚀了钢轨。
• Jealousy corroded his character. 嫉妒损伤了他的人格。

12 gangsters   

匪徒，歹徒( gangster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gangsters offered him a sum equivalent to a whole year's earnings. 歹徒提出要给他一笔相当于他一年收入的钱。
• One of the gangsters was caught by the police. 歹徒之一被警察逮捕。

13 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

14 vilifying   

v.中伤，诽谤( vilify的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A: But he is vilifying you! You should fight back. 可他是在诋毁你啊！你应该还击。 来自互联网