Urban uprisings between revolutionary openings and reactionary outcomes: making sense of the 2013 “June Days” in Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT Through a Rancièrian reading of the political as a performative staging of egalitarian dissent, this article conducts an event analysis of the 2013 Brazilian “June Days” uprisings. It identifies and challenges two broad narratives on these uprisings’ emergence and significance: a narrative of June’s “Revolutionary Openings” that views June as a sociopolitical opening that brought new actors and imaginaries into being, and a narrative of June’s “Reactionary Outcomes” that foregrounds June as paving the way for the rise of a revived, authoritarian right in Brazilian politics. Through an in-depth case study of one demonstration originating in Rio’s largest favela, the article provides much-needed empirical depth to interpretations of the June uprisings. It shows how these events fruitfully can continue to be framed as an open source of emancipatory politics, even in current political circumstances marked by an authoritarian, right-wing leadership. The article introduces three main lessons with relevance for broader debates in the urban studies literature: (i) a Rancièrian lens is fruitful for capturing the political dynamics of urban uprisings, however, (ii) a contextually embedded analysis of his abstract political logics is necessary, and (iii) the temporal dimension must be considered when assessing the transformative political potential of urban uprisings.