Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has labeled them “nobodies, conservatives, know-it-alls, hypocrites,” as well as “fifi” (bourgeois, pretentious) and “chayoteros” (a term implying that they take bribes). Trump, Bolsonaro and Lopez Obrador — who, despite having differences, share nationalist views, populist tactics and anti-democratic inclinations — have hardly limited themselves to rhetorical attacks. The Trump administration has severely curtailed press access to the White House. It has also revoked or suspended the press credentials of many journalists, based on reasoning so faulty or opaque that judges have ordered them restored. A week after Trump’s decision, Bolsonaro followed suit, canceling all government subscriptions to Folha de Sao Paulo, one of Brazil’s most respected newspapers.
