Brazil has undergone a recent period of political and social upheaval, and more than that, the country has never been particularly settled when it comes to its political leadership. After the recent coup and much of the corruption that has plagued the government, there are questions about where the existing leaders go from here. What happens to the country? Can it re-establish any democratic norms, and beyond that, should it attempt to do so? These are important questions that have no real easy answers at this point.

One of the things that the country must do is re-establish faith in its electoral processes and its democratic institutions. People at current have little faith in the rule of law in the country after a series of assassinations and some arrests for corruption. This means that the first thing that must be put in place is a new approach that will ensure that democracy is pushed to the forefront. There should be an effort to have more transparency in government, and there should be task forces put into place to ensure that people can come to trust in the legitimacy of government institutions in the near future.

One of the things that is likely to happen, as has happened in many countries in Central and South America, is a new focus on populism in helping the people. Corrupt governments in South and Central America have long been able to stave off outside influence and maintain their power by providing for the people so that the people will protect the corrupt government. This may lead to social works programs that appear on their face to be helpful for the working and poor people. These may just be mirages, however, and as long as powerful countries like the US are backing political corruption in Brazil, it is unlikely to get fixed without international intervention. This, too, is unlikely to come.