Policy dismantling and democratic regression in Brazil under Bolsonaro: Coalition politics, ideas, and underlying discourses

Abstract

Drawing on a cost-benefit approach, policy dismantling literature typically examines case studies following omitted and blame-avoidance strategies, which contrasts with the highly visible dismantling fostered by Bolsonaro's far-right administration in Brazil. This study examines the mechanisms leading to this active process and places it in the context of major policy changes in several fields (i.e., rural development, land titling, social protection, environment, and protection of indigenous peoples). It shows that dismantling decisions were made incrementally by conservative coalitions that seized upon the economic crisis to consolidate a neoliberal turn; however, this turn was radicalized with the expansion of the conservative alliance and tied together by populist rhetoric. This study sheds light on the politics of policy dismantling and addresses it as a process of democratic backsliding.

Understanding deforestation lock-in: Insights from Land Reform settlements in the Brazilian Amazon

“…Meanwhile, state actions regarding the expansion of infrastructure, subsidized credit, and fiscal benefits have all been heavily oriented toward the interests of large agribusiness and its political leverage (Kroger, 2017;Ferrante and Fearnside, 2019). The dismantling of environmental safeguards under the Bolsonaro administration would become just the latest manifestation of the interest in removing barriers to agribusiness expansion in that region (Ferrante and Fearnside, 2021;Bastos Lima and Da Costa, 2022;Milhorance, 2022).…”

“…It proved to be a fragile arrangement at best, gradually falling apart in the 2010s. Over time, regime incumbents strengthened their politico-institutional lock-in and dismantled their restraints from within the government, culminating with a free hand in the Bolsonaro administration (2019-2022) (West and Fearnside, 2021;Milhorance, 2022).…”

“…As of 2022, the vast majority of agribusiness people, ranchers and large-scale farmers remained vocally supportive of Jair Bolsonaro's reelection bid and of his anti-environmental political platform(Soares, 2022; see alsoMilhorance, 2022).…”

“One Single Agriculture”: Dismantling Policies and Silencing Peasant Family Farmers in Brazilian Foreign Policy (2016-2022)

“…Recent studies on family farming in Latin America, including Brazil, show a combination of subtle, almost imperceptible, and overt strategies to dismantle rural and environmental public policies in the last decade (Sabourin et al 2020;Grisa and Niederle 2021;Milhorance 2022). For Brazil, these studies show successive Presidents pursuing distinct dismantling strategies, according to the expectations of their ruling coalitions and electorate.…”

Narratives, evidence and public policy in crisis situations

“…第三篇文章涉及巴西的博索纳罗政府，巴西是另一个至少有部分威权主义结构的大国。 Carolina Milhorance(2022)展示了极右翼政府如何利用经济危机来传播其新自由主义政策。文章使用避责的观点来降低政策废除的政治成本(Bauer & Knill, 2014; Jensen et al, 2019; Pierson, 1994; Zahariadis et al, 2020)。研究表明了政策废除的动态。巴西的民主结构面临的挑战来自最初的渐进战略。这些经历似乎与其他国家的右翼民粹主义政府的影响相似。…”