Patterns of Church Influence in Brazil's Political Transition

Abstract

Brazil's twenty-one year authoritarian regime came to a close on January 15, 1985, when Tancredo Neves, the candidate of the opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, was elected president by an electoral college of state and federal legislators. Although Neves died before assuming office, the political transition of which he was a part has continued under his successor, Jose Sarney. Municipal elections were held on November 15, 1985, and exactly one year later general elections for governors, state and federal assemblies and senates, and representatives for the constituent assembly (the body which framed a new constitution during 1987-1988). The Brazilian transition, which was initiated by President Geisel in 1974, is the longest and most complex of the generalized trend from dictatorship to democracy in southern Europe and South America.' During the years of the military regime, the Catholic church played a prominent role in society and politics. Reversing historical trends in Brazil, and elsewhere for that matter, the church came into opposition to the military regime and was extremely active in mobilizing at the bases of society in order to pressure for change. Due to its strategy and actions, the Catholic church has been the focus of a relatively large number of studies and publications originating in Brazil and outside.2 Yet, while an appreciable amount of descriptive and analytical literature exists on its social and political role, there is no recent research dealing with the influence of the church on the population, some 90 percent of which is declared Catholic. The last study of this type was conducted by Bruneau, who concluded that the church, in its general strategy of change and influence, had little impact. However, this study was done in 1975, before the church had consolidated its commitment in favor of change and before the institution was widely recognized for its role in opposing the authoritarian regime. A more up to date study of the church's impact on the general population is perhaps no more important than at present, in the context of the transition to, and now possible consolidation of, the democratic regime. Political life is presently open, and parties and movements can form to mobilize and represent different sectors of the population. Many more opportunities for action and participation exist than was the case during the authoritarian regime, when the church tended to monopolize the role of unofficial opposition, acting in effect as a surrogate for other entities in society. If we are to fully understand the church's current role and where it is heading in this changing and potentially volatile milieu, we must have some indication of the strength of the popular support it currently enjoys. Using survey data collected in 1982 and 1984, this paper attempts to examine the extent of church influence in present-day Brazil and consequently to offer some preliminary observations and predictions with respect to its ongoing involvement in this-worldly