Legitimation of hate and political violence through memetic images: the Bolsonaro campaign

The federal elections were held in Brazil in 2018. The ballot resulted in a victory for the far-right candidate, Jair Messias Bolsonaro. The question that arose after the victory of the far-right was: How could this have happened? One of the instruments that undoubtedly contributed to this unexpected victory was a peculiar aspect of his political campaign: memetic communication. Through the use of memes in the social media (above all WhatsApp), Bolsonaro’s project transformed these violent discourses against political opponents, feminism, racialised persons and poverty into a series of discourses legitimised through humour and irony. It was a simplification through the memes affecting the static system of cognitive and metaphorical frameworks. During the pre-election period in 2018, we carried out digital ethnographic research in the WhatsApp groups of supporters of Bolsonaro’s project (“Bolsonarism”). In this period, we collected a sample of 132 memes belonging to WhatsApp groups composed of up to 256 members, who did not know each other and were geographically dispersed. The analysis we carried out demonstrates the trivialisation and legitimisation of violence against political opponents and other social groups. Much of this legitimisation was camouflaged under the mask of supposed humour and irony, which in reality was insulting, prejudicial and dehumanising

From hope to hate:He rise of conservative subjectivity in brazil

This essay focuses on the voters of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro in Morro da Cruz, a low-income community in Porto Alegre. The transition from Lulism (2002–16) to Bolsonarism (2018–) was marked by the rise and fall of the economy and the collapse of the political system. Based on a ten-year longitudinal ethnography, we look at the effects of such major shifts at the national level on people’s individual self- and political subjectivity. We investigate how and why “new consumers”—those who accessed the finance system during the Workers’ Party (PT) Administration—came to support a far-right candidate. We argue that the inclusion of the poor into the market economy brought about individual empowerment and a sense of self-worth in the PT era—a process that was threatened by economic recession and unleashed an existential crisis, especially among men. Bolsonaro, as a male figure, and his campaign gave order to a changing world, resulting in a reconciliation of personhood and political belonging

O pêndulo e as escalas da democracia: "epidemia de transgêneros" e resistência à (re)patologização das identidades trans

Brazilian democracy moves like a pendulum: from time to time its limits are expanded or retracted (Avritzer 2019). After a virulent dictatorial period, re-democratization was strengthened in the first decade of the 21st century. Public policies for the enfranchisement of the LGBT+ population were particularly important in this process. The rise of bolsonarism has been pushing the democratic pendulum back to its extreme opposite. This, however, does not go unchallenged. Against this backdrop, we analyze the online circulation of a poster for a lecture about a “transgender epidemic”, which was due to take place the Legislative Assembly of Porto Alegre in March 2020. Such textual disputes may help us reconceptualize the current state of Brazilian democracy as a friction between distinct scalar projects (Carr and Lempert, 2016). The textual trajectories we analyze suggest that the back and forth movement of democracy is not linear as Avritzer (2019) seems to assume. The illiberal retraction of recent years coexists with values forged in periods of democratic expansion, which explains the fact that the lecture was canceled due to online protests. Such resistance suggests that de-democratizing scalar projects are neither homogenous nor totalizing, which allows new political collectivities to contest attempts to disenfranchise them.La democracia brasileña se mueve como un péndulo: de vez en cuando, sus límites se amplían o disminuyen (Avritzer, 2019). Después de un período dictatorial violento, la redemocratización se fortaleció gradualmente. Las políticas públicas para la inclusión de la población LGBT+ fueron importantes en este proceso. El auge del bolsonarismo, sin embargo, ha estado llevando el péndulo democrático al extremo opuesto. Sin embargo, esto no sucede sin desafío. En este escenario, analizamos la circulación de un cartel revelando una conferencia sobre una "epidemia transgénero", que tendría lugar en la Asamblea Legislativa de Porto Alegre en marzo de 2020. Tales disputas textuales pueden ayudarnos a reconceptualizar el estado actual de la democracia brasileña tal como se produce en la tensión entre proyectos de escala (Carr y Lempert, 2016) distintos. Las trayectorias textuales bajo escrutinio indican que el respaldo del péndulo democrático no ocurre linealmente como Avritzer (2019) parece sugerir. La reciente retracción noliberal convive con los valores y las ganancias obtenidas en períodos de expansión democrática, hecho que explica la cancelación de la conferencia debido a las protestas en línea y fuera de línea contra su realización. Este tipo de resistencia parece sugerir que la desdemocratización de los proyectos de escala no es homogénea ni totalizadora, lo que permite que las nuevas colectividades políticas cuestionen su opresión.democracia brasileira se move como um pêndulo: de tempos em tempos, seus limites são expandidos ou diminuídos (Avritzer, 2019). Após um período ditatorial violento, a redemocratização foi gradualmente fortalecida. Políticas públicas para a inclusão da população LGBT+ foram importantes neste processo. A ascensão do bolsonarismo, no entanto, vem puxando o pêndulo democrático para o extremo oposto. Contudo, isso não acontece sem contestação. Nesse cenário, analisamos a circulação de um poster divulgando uma palestra sobre uma “epidemia de trangêneros”, que aconteceria na Assembleia Legislativa de Porto Alegre em março de 2020. Tais disputas textuais podem nos ajudar a reconceitualizar o estado atual da democracia brasileira como produzidas na tensão entre projetos escalares (Carr e Lempert, 2016) distintos. As trajetórias textuais sob escrutínio indicam que o vai-e-vem do pêndulo democrático não acontece de forma linear como Avritzer (2019) parece sugerir. A recente retração iliberal coexiste com valores e ganhos conquistados em períodos de expansão democrática, fato que explica o cancelamento da palestra devido a protestos online e offline contra sua realização. Esse tipo de resistência parece sugerir que projetos escalares desdemocratizantes não são homogêneos nem totalizadores, o que permite a novas coletividades políticas contestar sua opressão

Medicine, Dissent and the “Chloroquinization” of Truth:Brazil and Pandemic

This article explores the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil radicalizing Foucault’s notion of governmentality. While dominant scholarship has been interpreting the human tragedy of the outbreak in Brazil in terms of necropolitics and Bolsonaro’s populist rhetoric, the present work highlights other dimensions. It shows that the management of the pandemic was deployed to govern the conduct of the Brazilian population. This article detects novel economies of medical truth, obedience, and salvation. It also examines the struggles and (bio)political resistance of Brazil’s vulnerable communities. While academic debates interpreted those movements in terms of care and compassion, this article highlights their radical political aspects. Extending Foucault’s notion of “counter-conducts,” this article reveals how those collectives shaped new forms of medical dissent. More concretely, they brought forward political practices of hope, solidarity, and resilience.</p

Brazil: Country on Hold, Political Tension Running High

This paper discusses the Brazilian 2022 presidential elections, presenting Bolsonaro and Lula as the two frontrunners who have too many other candidates to face, who compose a third way that together joins around 30% of voting intention. Approaching the way how Bolsonaro arrived at power in the 2018 elections – when Lula could not be a candidate because he was incarcerated – this paper also discusses Bolsonaro’s government so that it can be possible to understand from where Bolsonaro comes and who he is, which mistakes he is doing that justifies the low levels of popularity, especially compared to Lula. Looking forward to seeing what the best for Brazil is and based on the hypothesis that a coup led by Bolsonaro would never succeed, not because of the international support to Brazil but due to the resilience of internal defenders of the rule of law, this paper is theoretically supported on the paradigmatic theory and concludes from the scenarios structured that Lula seems to be victorious in all of them.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio