Is There a Way Forward in Extreme Political Polarization?

Soon after Jair Bolsonaro’s election as president of Brazil in 2018, he began making it a lot easier for people in the country to buy guns. In this episode, we speak to two experts about Brazil’s boom in private gun ownership and why it’s exacerbating fears about political violence ahead of a run-off presidential election on October 30. 

Featuring Erika Robb Larkins, associate professor of anthropology and director of the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University in the US and Juliano Cortinhas, professor of international relations at the University of Brasilia in Brazil.

This episode was produced by Gemma Ware and Mend Mariwany, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Full credits for this episode are available here. Read a transcript of this episode. Sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.

Further reading and listening:

• Brazil: inside Jair Bolsonaro’s militarised democracy – podcast 
• Bolsonaro’s first-round election bounce back reminds us why populist leaders are so popular
• Another stress test for democracy: The imminent election crisis in Brazil
• Brazil election: how the political violence of the country’s history has re-emerged