By Gerardo Szalkowicz on October 11, 2018
Something changed on Sunday in Latin American politics. The image is frightening; almost 50 million Brazilians voted for an openly fascist project. Forty-six percent of the electorate in the largest country in the region (and the fifth in the world) elected a candidate who vindicates torture and apologizes for the dictatorship, who displays rhetoric of hatred, machismo, racism and homophobia. He promises to arm the population and privatize state-owned enterprises. In addition, his son just became the most voted for deputy in Brazilian history.
The strengthening of the pure and hard right was already being accentuated with the presidencies of Macri, Piñera, Temer, Mario Abdo, Iván Duque and several others. But this irruption of an ultra-right troglodyte who manages to conquer an enormous social base – an experiment that was installed in the United States with Trump and that extends to Europe – is a sudden and dangerous development in Latin America that has upended our diagnoses and set off all the alarms.
Brazil is now on the edge of the abyss. And beyond the urgencies for the second round, it is time to unravel the whole movie in the face of the return of obscurantism. How did this political, sociological and even religious phenomenon called Jair Messias Bolsonaro come about?
The triumph of “anti-politics”, or the politics of hatred
To understand this political tsunami, a look back is necessary. Briefly Brazil is a country whose independence was proclaimed by a Portuguese prince that did not undergo revolutionary processes, whose last dictatorship lasted 21 years and had a fairly consensual solution that gave birth to a historically depoliticized society.
But this “anti-political” sentiment has been boosted in recent years, stimulated by Operation Lava Jato and the big media. After the institutional coup that ousted Dilma in 2016 and the poor corrupt management of Michel Temer, the rottenness of the political system became evident and a rejection by the ruling class through common sense came about. In fact, the main punished parties in Sunday’s election were the establishment’s two main parties: the PSDB, whose candidate Geraldo Alckmin did not even get 5%, and Temer’s MDB, which nominated Henrique Meirelles, scored a meager 1.2%.
But this process had as its central theme a strong campaign of media and judicial demonization against the PT, by associating the epidemic of corruption unilaterally with that political party and socially justifying Lula’s irregular imprisonment and prohibiting him from running for the presidency.
Within this framework emerges this unknown ex-military runaway who manages to capitalize on the implosion of the right and center-right parties, the consolidation of that strong anti-PT sentiment and the acute economic crisis that shook the boredom. Since politics abhors emptiness, Bolsonaro appears as the anti-system candidate (despite the fact that he has been a member of parliament for 28 years) who promises to resolve this multidimensional crisis by means of a strong hand and messianic preaching. And from being a marginal legislator, who gained fame when he publicly praised the soldier who tortured Dilma, he became the most sinister symbol of this dying democracy.
Religious fundamentalism
Those 50 million votes cannot be understood without analyzing the active militancy of the powerful Universal Church of the Kingdom of God; the neo Pentecostal evangelical force which has in recent times integrated itself more and more into the political arena throughout the region. The evangelicals are organized and are attacking on simultaneous fronts: Congress where the “bench of the Bible” controls 20% of the Chamber of Deputies; In the media with the second largest press with its multi media Record that reduces the distances from the Globo Network to the popular neighborhoods, where it has territorial penetration that no party can achieve.
Perhaps part of Bolsonaro’s abrupt rise can be explained by the deployment of thousands of pastors furiously campaigning for the ex-military captain in the days leading up to the vote.
The other three legs of the table
Another key factor in building consensus around Bolsonaro was the big media, which ended up accepting the lesser evil in the face of the irreversible polarization with the PT and the failure of the candidates of order. Anti PT fake news multiplied in the last few weeks and wreaked havoc on social networks. Something similar happened with corporate and financial power, which also closed ranks with Bolsonaro. This is not for nothing, its economic guru is Paulo Guedes, a Chicago boy who assures that an ultra neo liberal course will prevail.
Finally, the growing power of the so-called “Military Party,” which this Sunday quadrupled its presence to the rhythm of the debacle of traditional politics. In addition to Bolsonaro and his running mate, the ineffable General Hamilton Mourão, at least 70 military candidates were elected and three will compete for state governorships in the second round.
The limits of progressivism
The PT also deserves to reflect on its responsibility in the depoliticization of Brazilian society and in the creation of the Frankenstein Bolsonaro. For 12 years, there was a lack of audacity to advance in rational transformations, such as the much-needed political reform or a law that would limit media concentration. And above all, popular empowerment and political-ideological training were not deepened, facilitating the ground for the dissemination of retrograde and authoritarian values.
And once outside the Planalto Palace, Brazilian progressives were content to fight almost exclusively on institutional scaffolding. Except for the actions of permanent mobilization of the popular movements, the PT strategy was trapped in the web of a democratic system that was controlled by the coup plotter, media, religious, military and financial institutions.
Perhaps in the street response of Brazilian women and their powerful slogan #EleNão you can find some clues on how to confront the prophets of hate and their monster Bolsonaro.
http://rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=247595
Source: Rebelion, translation Resumen Latinoamericano, North America Bureau