Amy Erica Smithis Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Professor, as well as associate professor of political science, at Iowa State University. In 2020–22, she is a Carnegie Fellow. She is the author of Religion and Brazilian Democracy: Mobilizing the People of God (2019).
It is not easy to build a stable hybrid regime. Elected autocrats may try, but comparing Bolivia, Brazil, and Venezuela shows how difficult it is to succeed.
By highlighting the deficiencies of authoritarian-populist president Jair Bolsonaro’s rule, the covid-19 pandemic is likely to leave Brazil’s democracy intact but even more brittle.
