Bolsonaro, Zuma, Malema

Having Bolsonarismo as a point of comparison, this article discusses challenges to African National Congress (ANC) political dominance in South Africa raised by two ANC splinters: former president Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and Julius Malema-led Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). It is argued that the rationale behind the government of national unity that brought together the ANC and the white-dominated Democratic Alliance (DA) in the aftermath of 2024 ́s elections is to defend the post-apartheid ‘Rainbow Nation’ framework from social and political trends embodied by the EFF and the MKP, which are likely to accelerate its depletion. A comparable rationale underpinned Lula ́s return to the Brazilian presidency in 2022. As with Bolsonaro, the prominence of the MKP and the EFF are seen as symptoms of a hegemony crisis, pointing to social and political trends that are likely to outreach their leaders ́ political span

Alliance · Democracy · Hegemony · Politics · Presidency · African cultural and philosophical studies · Globalization and Cultural Identity · South African History and Culture