Abstract
This brief chapter offers some first reflections on the nexus between what is now being construed as a ‘failed’ memory politics in Brazil and the recent mass support for a figure who enthuses about human rights violations. It asks: Where did memory politics ‘fail’ and to what extent can this explain Bolsonaro’s rise? Is the Bolsonaro government successfully dismantling a supposed ‘post-authoritarian human rights culture’ or ‘collective memory’, and what kind of resistance does he face? The chapter answers these questions in three steps. It first outlines Bolsonaro’s views on past violence. It then summarises key post-1985 memory initiatives in order to, thirdly, examine both how the Bolsonaro government is trying to dismantle existing human rights and memory institutions, and who the actors are that resist these political initiatives.
Highlights
This brief paper offers some first reflections on the nexus between what is being construed as a ‘failed’ memory politics in Brazil and the recent mass support for a figure who enthuses about human rights violations
It asks: Where did memory politics ‘fail’ and to what extent can this explain Bolsonaro’s rise? Is the Bolsonaro government successfully dismantling a supposed ‘post-authoritarian human rights culture’ or ‘collective memory’, and what kind of resistance does he face? The paper answers these questions in three steps
While the comparatively weak measures implemented by key protagonists of the Brazilian state could not in and of themselves prevent such a political backlash, it is, on the other hand, precisely the public and private memory and human rights institutions, networks and entrepreneurs who are resisting this shift by opposing the Bolsonaro government and his radical supporters
Summary
This brief paper offers some first reflections on the nexus between what is being construed as a ‘failed’ memory politics in Brazil and the recent mass support for a figure who enthuses about human rights violations. I argue that, while the reasons for Bolsonaro’s rise are complex, his initial popularity showed that few Brazilian voters have truly engaged with the history of the Brazilian dictatorship.2 While the comparatively weak measures implemented by key protagonists of the Brazilian state could not in and of themselves prevent such a political backlash, it is, on the other hand, precisely the public and private memory and human rights institutions, networks and entrepreneurs who are resisting this shift by opposing the Bolsonaro government and his radical supporters.
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