Will Brazil become the equivalent of the Philippines in the fight against drugs?

Against a backdrop of political and economic crisis, Brazil is set to elect a new president. On Sunday October 7, two candidates qualified for the second round: Jair Bolsonaro and Fernando Haddad. The two men have radically different visions of the fight against drugs. The position of Bolsonaro, the favorite in the first round, looks dangerously similar to that of Fernando Haddad. to that of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Brazil and cannabis

Brazil is considered South America's leading cannabis consumer. For some years now, cannabis consumption has been tolerated for personal use, but the determination of «use» is left to the discretion of police and judges. This has led to unequal treatment that has tended to exacerbate ethnic and social differences. The omnipresence of the cartels in society and the intensification and militarization of the war on drugs have stifled this policy of tolerance to the point where consumers are prosecuted and incarcerated as suspected traffickers.

Moreover, the country is plagued by violence and crime: the country's prison population is currently the fourth largest in the world, and the homicide rate is four times the global average. Violence linked to cannabis trafficking amounts to 60,000 homicides a year, whether in gang wars for control of the production and distribution chain, or in clashes with the police. At present, the most influential cartel is the First Capital Commando (PCC). It has succeeded in setting up a transnational drug trafficking network, unofficially called «Narcosul», which brings in cannabis from Paraguay and cocaine from Bolivia.

Liberal voices were raised in favor of legalizing cannabis (notably by’a Supreme Court judge, Roberto Barroso) to combat drug trafficking. A position also envisaged by countries in the region such as Mexico or Uruguay. Particularly in the context of Brazil, a country plagued by poverty, radical anti-drug policies seem to ignore the deep-rooted societal causes that drive some people to drug use and trafficking. Their effectiveness is questionable, since it is often the replaceable hands who are killed by the forces of law and order, not the drug barons. While these policies probably slow down the cartels, they are not enough to combat them in the long term.

Bolsonaro the Brazilian «Trump» or «Duterte

The first-round favorite is on the extreme right of the political spectrum. Nicknamed the Brazilian Trump, he shares with the latter a taste for provocation. His populist, conservative rhetoric is appealing to an increasing number of voters, thanks to a general sense of frustration. In addition, he has publicly declared his opposition to abortion and drug liberalization, and advocates.., in the image of Trump, an intensification of the war on drugs.

Um chefe de Estado deve tomar posições, decidir, mostrar a todos sua verdadeira face. Sempre me posicionei contra a liberação das drogas e aborto.
Marina ao sugerir plebiscito, sem dizer sua posição para temas tão relevantes, se esquiva e lava suas mãos no politicamente correto.

- Jair M. Bolsonaro (@jairbolsonaro) June 23, 2018

Bolsonaro also shares with Trump a common admiration for the «effectiveness» of Philippine President Duterte in the fight against drugs. The latter has declared a real war on drugs and even went so far as to propose arming civilians. Like Trump, who had mentioned the death penalty for drug dealers, and like Duterte, whom he considers to be doing «a good thing for his country», Bolsonaro has declared himself in favor of the police killing drug dealers. He also wants to further militarize the fight against drugs, and reinforce the army's presence «in the streets, and even in schools, [where] bandidos sell drugs and openly smoke marijuana».» he asserted.

In contrast to these eradication policies, his rival, Fernando Haddad, seems to be taking a more measured stance. He points out that his party has historically approached drug problems as public health issues. In an interview with El pais, He also denounced the ineffectiveness of current policies, which they regard as misleading, and expressed the need to «analyze the subject with a more scientific, pragmatic and less fundamentalist vision, looking for concrete objectives, such as improving public health».

While mayor of Sao Paulo, Haddad initiated the «A Bras Ouverts» (Open Arms) program, which provided drug addicts with hotel accommodation, hot meals, access to health services and the opportunity to work and get paid, thus diverting them from the conveniences and easy money on offer from the drug cartels.