One thing I don't get is how a fascist can gain traction in a predominantly non-white country (with universal suffrage, as opposed to 1970/80s South Africa). South America has obviously had a lot of US-backed right-wing authoritarians, but this seems a bit different
There is always an 'other' that can be blamed I suppose, when a lot of people are poor and desperate. A left-wing authoritarian would blame a corrupt rich elite and use that to take down their political enemies. A right-wing authoritarian will blame a corrupt liberal elite (and tie in homophobic stuff with that no doubt), and blame immigrants (if there are any) to take down their political enemies. The flavour of the month across the world at the moment seems to be fascism (or in some cases, a march towards fascism) and we are in a pretty dangerous time for a number of reasons: strongmen leaders, on the verge of a new cold war and climate change.