Anembryonic Democracy? The sociopolitical deterioration of post-impeachment Brazil

Abstract

Brazilian democracy, as in anembryonic gestation - in which the apparent signs caused by the action of hormones do not correspond to the presence of an embryo - did not fi nd in the formal institutions constituted, values and practices capable of safeguarding the development of a substantial democracy. In diff erent periods of the country’s history, the initial impetus towards greater political participation and social inclusion was interrupted by abrupt intervention in the course of democracy. In 2016, a combination of interests from the party opposition, the oligopoly of communication, and sectors of the judiciary created the conditions for President Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment for non-compliance with budget laws. Under the formal rite of the institutions, the parliamentary coup ensured the return of the Conservatives to power and set in motion an agenda of social regression and authoritarianism with broad support from sectors ideologically opposed to the previous government. As a result, the democracy project in Brazil is once again under threat and the indicators thereof have repercussions on the aggravation of social problems. In this work, we analyze the factors that determined the deterioration of Brazilian democracy and the deepening of the parliamentary coup that prevents the fecundation of a solid democracy in the country.