We will hardly understand anything about what is currently happening in Brazil if we fail to take seriously what members of the current government and their ideological allies call "revolution."
Mr. Bolsonaro finds himself leading a kind of conservative revolution which commands the faith of his most loyal constituency. Bolsonaro knows that he will eventually rule for this power centre. There is no prospect of re-electing this government by a large majority. But, as war manuals remind us, a smaller, well-mobilized group is better than a large group which lacks a unified approach to action.
A smaller, well-mobilized group is better than a large group which lacks a unified approach to action.
Those who support this government believe they are in a struggle against the powers that have always ruled the country (political caste, the press, and the intellectual elite). They believe they have placed "one of our own" at the heart of power. Someone who has our same characteristics and who shares in our difficulties. Someone who is not afraid to show his unfitness to occupy the position, thus creating some empathic identification with those who could never imagine being president. They think that in this revolution one should not "respect the institutions" that were largely responsible "for all that is there,” the former status quo. They see themselves fighting for “freedom of expression”, especially if this “freedom” allows the circulation of discursive violence against vulnerable sectors of society, such as women, blacks, LGBTQs. A discursive violence that legitimises violent practices.
