CONJUNCTURES OF DEMOCRACY EROSION

Abstract

The paper aims to examine and understand the recent developments in Brazilian democracy in a sociological perspective. It offers an analysis of the conjunctural preconditions for the recent rise of authoritarian populism, presenting ways in which Brazil can be viewed as paradigm of democratic erosion and/or resilience. The article describes the foundational premises that made the development of contemporary democracies possible, and it proceeds from this description to explain how features common to authoritarian populist movements in Brazil and elsewhere are detrimental to these premises. It is argued that democracies are likely to thrive when welfare provisions and access to human rights are open to increasing sectors of the population, generating an inclusionary citizenship effect. The political polarization regarding the Brazilian welfare system and the discourse against international human rights, culminated in the weakening of the Brazilian welfare net and setbacks in the recognition of human rights by courts. These processes preceded, and were aggravated by, the rise of authoritarian populism in Brazil, generating an exclusionary view of citizenship that tended to intensify social conflict, with increasing militarization at both governmental and social levels. Arguably, the absence of warfare or an imminent warfare threat in the most recent democratic transition in Brazil reduced the capacity of welfare and constitutional human rights provisions to limit the influence of the military on democracy. While the efforts to build up the welfare system and protect human rights are still ongoing, the militarization element remains latent, posing a constant threat to democratic consolidation in Brazil.