A moral agenda

Items

• 'Brazil above everything, God above all'

  LatinNews 17 January 2020 Hits: 2003

  Bolsonaro’s assurances on the economy, corruption and violent crime were a direct response to Brazil’s biggest problems. They convinced a number of voters in October 2018 and have helped him maintain a reasonable level of support throughout his first year in office. But Bolsonaro’s most staunch supporters buy into a different narrative, a common thread that cut across all these pledges, and more: his promise to return Brazil to moral rectitude by fighting dangerous left-wing ideology.

  This promise has been repeatedly conveyed throughout his first year in office in his bellicose rhetoric; his dismissal of anything remotely leftist as the scourge of communism; his admiration for Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964-1985); and his apparent delight in causing offence and outrage amongst those who espouse liberal social values, with the kind of sexist, racist, homophobic, and authoritarian statements for which he was known before 2018.

  Hopes that Bolsonaro would moderate his discourse and settle into a more statesmanlike posture have been repeatedly dashed over the course of the year. Each provocative tweet or statement is usually followed by a retraction minimising the controversy, but it is more than mere noise. The ebb and flow of scandal keeps hardline ‘bolsonaristas’ fired up; culture wars have paralysed certain government ministries and their work; and some of Bolsonaro’s moralistic judgements and opinions have trickled down into government policy in a number of sectors, most notably education and foreign policy. 

   ‘Brasil acima de tudo, Deus acima de todos’ was Bolsonaro’s campaign slogan, capturing his promise to return Brazil to greatness and uphold traditional Christian values. This found resonance amongst the conservative parts of a Brazilian society divided by culture wars. He has the support of Evangelicals, a demographic which has grown in size and influence over the past three decades. Evangelical Christians now make up an estimated 31% of the population and the evangelical parliamentary bloc in congress is composed of 195 deputies (out of 513) and eight senators (out of 81).

  Education, gender politics, and abortion are some of the issues on which the evangelical lobby is pushing its so-called ‘traditions agenda’. An ultra-conservative education project known as the ‘escola sem partido’, which would seek to end supposed indoctrination in schools, has been contained by congress. But Brazil, where social conservatism has tended to cohabitate with a culture of tolerance, is undergoing a cultural shift. In his study of middle-class Bolsonaro voters who are just above the poverty threshold, Barbosa from the USP has observed a reactionary pushback against affirmative action measures like racial quotas in public universities (introduced in 2012) and the recent social rights gains of minority groups such as members of the LGBTQ+ community – an opinion these bolsonaristas are not ashamed to voice.

• The crusade against 'cultural Marxism'

  LatinNews 17 January 2020 Hits: 1364

  One of the principal criticisms that Bolsonaro levies at the leftist PT administrations that preceded him is their ideologisation of government agendas. And yet, despite his claims to the contrary, Bolsonaro has gone on to do the same, merely shifting the ideological bias to the right. 

  Education

  The education ministry (MEC) stands out as one of the principal victims of these ideological culture wars. The first education minister, Ricardo Vélez Rodríguez, a Colombian philosopher naturalised Brazilian, was forced to resign in April after failing to contain disputes between the military and ideologue factions in his ministry. His replacement Abraham Weintraub has equally failed to distinguish himself, attracting the ire of students, teachers, and education organisations with his comments frequently dismissing Brazil’s (well-regarded) public universities as hotbeds of communism and depravity.

  A project to increase the number of military schools and an ill-designed policy to encourage alphabetisation have formed the bulk of the MEC’s work under Weintraub. With Brazil lagging in international ratings, particularly where primary education is concerned, the education sector is worried that the current administration’s failure to implement needed reform will have lasting consequences.

  Foreign policy

  The foreign ministry (Itamaraty) has been leading the charge on the ideological agenda, under the aegis of foreign minister Ernesto Araújo, a self-confessed anti-globalist who is an admirer of US President Donald Trump and considers climate change to be a Marxist plot.

  Pragmatism has sometimes prevailed, as has been the case over relations with China (which have come a long way since Bolsonaro accused the country of buying up Brazil during his election campaign) and, more recently, Argentina under new President Fernández. But overall, ideological alignment has been the driving force behind the current administration’s foreign policy. Bolsonaro has shown a clear preference for building ties with populist strongmen who share his conservative views, such as Trump in the US and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and picked fights with foreign leaders who criticise him, such as France’s President Emmanuel Macron. 

  Brazil has also shifted its position in international fora. Bolsonaro’s attack on globalism during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September and the Brazilian delegation’s reportedly aggressive and unconstructive negotiations at the COP25 climate talks in December crystallise this. The country’s image has taken a hit as a result, and Brazil has for now lost its reputation as a respected and pragmatic player in multilateral discussions.

• Rhetoric has consequences

  LatinNews 15 January 2020 Hits: 1268

  Some might argue that the concerns that followed Bolsonaro’s election over his authoritarian tendencies and inflammatory language were overblown. Brazil’s democratic institutions have so far contained the president’s most extreme inclinations, blocking his more radical initiatives and calling him and his allies to order when they overstep the mark.

  However, there are tangible effects of Bolsonaro’s and his followers’ discourse, wherein anything they oppose or criticise is branded as left-wing, as illustrated by the socio-environmental situation in the Amazon. Bolsonaro speaks repeatedly of exploiting the Amazon’s economic potential, of opening up protected indigenous territories to agricultural and mining activities, and of integrating Brazil’s indigenous peoples into the modern world. He has frequently attacked NGOs and spread lies about environmental activists. He has received illegal wildcat miners in Brasília and promised them he will seek to legalise their activities.

  At the same time, his first year in office has seen violence against Brazil’s indigenous peoples rising, with at least 11 indigenous leaders killed in areas of land conflict in 2019 (up from two in 2018). Closely linked to this, in the Amazon illegal activities have been expanding. Deforestation increased by 29.5% in the year to July 2019 and wildfires, largely man-made, surged by 30% over the course of last year. Environmentalists, indigenous activists, and scientists say this is all a clear consequence of Bolsonaro’s narrative.

  Journalists are another group which has been the target of repeated attacks from the president. Responding to reports criticising his government and his family, or simply lashing out during press conferences, Bolsonaro has personally attacked individual journalists, attempted to discredit their work, and railed against media outlets in general. He has threatened to revoke the licence of the country’s largest TV network, TV Globo, and failed to renew the government’s subscriptions to all print publications. Brazilian press associations such as the Federação Nacional dos Jornalistas (Fenaj) have raised concerns about the impact this has on the freedom of expression and on democracy – concerns which have been echoed in other quarters every time Bolsonaro tests the limits of the country’s democratic institutions.      

  The environment and the international gaze

  Brazil suffered three major environmental disasters in 2019: the collapse of a tailings dam in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais state in January, which killed over 250 people, destroyed 112 hectares of primary forest and contaminated 300km of river; a surge in man-made wildfires in the Amazon in August, destroying an estimated 30,000km² of rainforest; and a mysterious oil spill which began washing up oil sludge on Brazilian shores in September, steadily spreading to pollute over 2,000km of coastline.

  The Bolsonaro government cannot be held directly responsible for all these events, but its response, especially on the latter two, has been deemed slow and lacking. While environmental concerns and efforts to contain climate change are gathering importance internationally, Brazil has gone the other way, with Bolsonaro appointing an environment minister, Ricardo Salles, who is overtly anti-conservation.

  The Amazon fires in particular drew the attention of international leaders and civil society, prompting worldwide demonstrations against Bolsonaro’s environmental policies (or lack thereof) and campaigns for consumer boycott of Brazilian products linked to deforestation. Neither Bolsonaro nor Salles show any sign of having heeded these warnings. The only scenario in which a shift in their environmental policy is likely is if Brazilian agribusiness begin to feel seriously threatened and exercise their influence over the government.