«The politics of memory» in modern Brazil (2012—2022)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the historical politics in modern Brazil. The author analyzes historical politics as a politics of memory aimed to maintain and revise the memorial canon as a factor in the development of national identity and culture of memory. The novelty of the study lies in the analysis of the features and contradictions of the politics of memory in Brazil, since historical politics is one of the problems that have not been studied enough in Latin American studies in Russian historiography. The article analyzes 1) the main features of historical politics in Brazil, 2) the development of "memorial" discussions in Brazil, 3) the potential of historical manipulations in Brazil in contexts of the transformation of political identity. The article analyzes the differences between left and right versions of the politics of memory in the context of the ideological fragmentation of Brazilian society. It is assumed that historical politics in modern Brazil develops as a deconstruction of the left canon of national memory by putting forward alternative right-wing interpretations of history. The results of the study suggest that the politics of memory in Brazil is institutionally undetermined, various actors are involved in its implementation, represented by intellectuals and political elites who participate in the revision of history and the formation of a new memorial canon of Brazilian society.