Authoritarian Governments and the Corrosion of the Social Protection Network in Brazil

Abstract

What are the impacts of the austerity reforms on the social protection network and the legacy of Social Security, enshrined in the 1988 Constitution of Brazil? The hypothesis of this article is that Brazil’s recent political economy demonstrates the antinomy between financial capitalism and representative mass democracy, which results in the corrosion of social protection policies and the regulation of capital/labor relations. The political economy is immunized against democratic grassroots pressure in a clear dispute over public funds and the growing commodification and deregulation of lucrative private activities in the social protection arena. This movement is favored by the existence of a political and electoral system that perpetuates the various conservative elites in a reactionary coalition that hinders the progress achieved in the expansion of citizenship and economic, cultural and social rights. Through national and international studies, as well as the analysis of political measures, we seek to justify this hypothesis.

Political discourse, denialism and leadership failure in Brazil’s response to COVID-19

“…Bolsonaro, a populist president, came to power in 2018 through an alliance between economic liberals and social conservatives that helped him win the presidential election in October 2018 (Evans, 2018). Bolsonaro had benefitted politically from the corruption allegations that resulted in the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff two years earlier, and was able to build on the momentum generated by her successor, Michel Temer, in rolling back Brazil's redistributive welfare state (Teixeira & Pinho, 2018). Bolsonaro's presidential political campaign and his three years in presidency were characterised by pro-market policies and the use of misinformation and antiscience rhetoric to discredit democratic institutions standing in the way of his agenda (Richard & Medeiros, 2020).…”

Derechos sociales: difíciles de construir, fáciles de destruir

“…Los gobiernos del Partido de los Trabajadores (PT), con Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva, se beneficiaron del boom de commodities, lo que les ha permitido avanzar con medidas distributivas como el aumento del sueldo mínimo, las políticas de inclusión por cupos en las universidades, expansión de la red pública educacional y de las matrículas, y, el énfasis en el combate a la pobreza con la transferencia condicionada de ingresos por medio del programa Bolsa Familia. Se implementaron otros programas de apoyo a la población más empobrecida, pero no fueron alteradas ni la matriz productiva ni la estructura tributaria con las que podrían revertir el proceso de desindustrialización y de aumento de la informalidad, que se profundizó en el gobierno de Dilma Rousseff (28) . El sistema de salud se vio de alguna forma beneficiado con mayores dotaciones presupuestarias, aunque siguió subfinanciado, comparativamente con la dotación per cápita de países vecinos, como Argentina.…”

“…El golpe mediático-jurídico-parlamentario que destituyó a la presidenta Dilma Rousseff repone el poder en manos de una coalición de conservadores, con fuerte representación en el Parlamento (28) . En el corto período de su gobierno, el expresidente Temer estableció un techo fijo para los gastos públicos por 20 años, congelando gastos sociales por debajo de lo necesario.…”

Economía solidaria, salud mental y arte / cultura: promoviendo la racionalidad política de los bienes comunes

“…Partimos da hipótese que tais práticas, tendo o duplo objetivo de geração de renda/inclusão pelo trabalho e promoção de saúde mental dos usuários, podem ser alavancadas e crescer em escala, se forem devidamente fomentadas, proporcionando acesso a bens de uso comum nas comunidades onde se inserem. O financiamento estatal que as viabiliza tende a regredir ainda mais nos próximos anos (Fleury & Pinho, 2018). Nesse sentido, compreender em maior profundidade as condições de possibilidade para o fortalecimento de vínculos dessas iniciativas com agentes da sociedade civil pode contribuir para fortalecer práticas de enraizamento comunitário nos cenários futuros, o que logo se estabeleceu como um objetivo central do estudo.…”