Authoritarian Zones within Democracy: Rule of Law in Contemporary Brazil

President Jair Bolsonaro’s government (2019-2022) brought unprecedented turmoil to the Brazilian democracy. In this paper, we argue that Bolsonaro’s government builds on and expands pre-existing zones of authoritarianism embedded in the country. We illustrate the intricacies and perils of sustaining and expanding zones of authoritarianism in the Brazilian case in two domains: corruption and police violence, areas that represent some of the most important unsolved puzzles of redemocratization. They are bound together by the centrality of impunity, where unchecked power creates zones where the Rule of Law is contested. By illustrating the struggles to build accountability in these areas, we discuss the challenges that pre-existing zones of authoritarianism pose to democracy and how new autocrats have mobilized them. We also highlight analytical as well as empirical challenges for those studying autocratization processes in countries that are as hybrid or dual legal orders.