The Paranoid Style in Brazilian Politics

[Judi Lynn]

The Paranoid Style in Brazilian Politics

The slow decline of the Brazilian Workers’ Party has emboldened the country’s growing right wing.

by Patrick de Oliveira

1.7.15

Patrick de Oliveira is a PhD student in history at Princeton University.



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A December cover of the conservative Brazilian magazine Veja.
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Speaking after her October reelection, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that she didn’t think the country was divided. That might have been wishful thinking.

The 2014 campaign was the most bitter since Brazil returned to direct popular elections in 1989. Supporters of Aécio Neves, Rousseff’s opponent in the runoff election, expressed legitimate — albeit selective — indignation over the corruption scandals that have plagued the Workers’ Party (PT) in its twelve years in power. A new right-wing punditry has taken ownership of this outrage, launching tirades against the evils of big government and cynical leftist agents seeking to undermine traditional values — a discourse reminiscent of the American Tea Party.

This new Brazilian right, unlike the Tea Party, does not have a foundational moment in national history it can appropriate in order to oppose any kind of progressive politics — what Jill Lepore calls an anti-historical perspective. But its members still see even the smallest left initiative as a lethal threat to their vision of a good society.

They perceive themselves as engaged in a life-or-death struggle to protect Western civilization (narrowly understood as being sustained by the twin pillars of economic liberalism and cultural conservatism) against the specter of a scheming authoritarian left.

One of the leading figures in shaping this new right-wing discourse is Rodrigo Constantino, a blogger and columnist for Veja magazine. The morning after Rousseff’s reelection, Constantino posted on Facebook that people should find a copy of Atlas Shrugged. He followed with blog posts accusing Rousseff voters of being either ignorant or scoundrels, making it impossible to have a political discussion with them.

More:
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/01/brazil-right-wing-veja/

[MisterP]

1. the "Christian West" bit is from what's called the "National Security Doctrine"

in the 50s the Brazilian officer schools developed a bizarre ideology where everything was divided into two systems: one was Red and totalitarian and the other Christian and democratic; now this applied within a country as well as globally--each country's Army was of course fighting for the West while each strike was possible only with the aid of domestic Commies: since 1947 the US also believed that every nationalist incident or labor action was Moscow extending its tentacles, because if the US lost the USSR had to be the one winning

in Argentina it combined with 10s fascism and French techniques from Algiers: the idea was to grab any random "native" off the street, torture them to death, grab anyone they named, and work your way inward--luego a sus simpatizantes, luego a quienes permanezcan indiferentes y por último mataremos a los indecisos (this system was in fact started by Mrs. Peron but that's another story)

but Videla and Massera quickly were unable to tell when they'd "won" against subversion: every banker, bishop, and sergeant they murdered was only further proof of how extensive "the conspiracy" was: the worms eating the heart out of the Land Under the Southern Cross got closer and closer to the peak, and Viola took over

but now we have Kochites and Randroids joining the the Brazilian military's traditional autarky (that's eating up the Amazon under Rousseff as well): Chile and Argentina were the first countries in the world to adopt Chicago-School Reaganomics--the Brazilian Army might not benefit if it unleashes a new sort of coup for Brazil, one that starts consuming its own generals

[Judi Lynn]

2. It's a real benefit for DU'ers who read your working links in this post. They are so HELPful.

Very grateful for getting the opportunity to learn a lot really quickly. Thank you for steering us toward a better understanding.

[MisterP]

3. d'awww, thanks! but the Reagan revolution shows what'll hapen if you fuse fundamentalism

with Objectivism

they'll kick the saint soon enough, though!

[Judi Lynn]

4. What a performance! He seems so understated, this Neo-Pentacostal.

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Brazil's loss is South Africa's gain. He'll have lots of white Protestants to play with, there.

This is an amazing event. I'm glad there were repercussions. He's far too loathesome.

He still owes Brazil one of these:

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[MisterP]

5. he owes them a lot of reais, too--the literal trash bags full his stadium "revivals" obtained

[Judi Lynn]

6. Wow, not surprised! That's so creepy! Maybe pages of their Bibles used to blow their noses?

How much trash do regular church goers leave behind them after they attend religious events? I'd guess NONE.

Fundamentalists!

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