WHY THE BRAZILIAN ELECTIONS MATTER
By J.P. Linstroth
1020 words
This past Sunday, on October 28th, Jair Bolsonaro, was elected as the 38thPresident of Brazil from the Social Liberal Party, a conservative leaning party. His critics call him the “Brazilian Trump.”
Indeed, Bolsonaro’s election is symptomatic of a worldwide trend toward “right-wing populism” and “neo-nationalism,” or popular sympathies favoring political candidates on the far right of the political spectrum. For example, in recent elections this year in Italy and Hungary, and last year in Austria, neo-nationalist parties have been on the rise and in control of those countries’ parliaments. This inclination in autocratic governance may continue in Western Europe and elsewhere.
So, what has inspired this political trend? Why are such politicians with far-right leaning tendencies being elected to political office?
We are seeing anti-civil rhetoric, especially racism and the incitement of racist violence, as hallmarks of these political trends. Such hatred is being directed at immigrants, women, minorities, and the LGBTQ community in general, thereby poisoning overall civility.
Why is this happening? Among the commonalities favoring right-wing populism are a general downturn in the world economy; the lack of job opportunities; general fears about immigrant populations; and general fears about the disappearance of so-called traditional lifestyles.
In places like the United States and Western Europe, the economy has not recovered enough from the “Great Recession” of 2008 to offer enough stability for the middle class, and so anxiety persists. Many affected in that way also believe immigrants are responsible for taking away their jobs. Some believe average tax payers will be forced to provide social services for such newly arrived populations.
Furthermore, people in general see their traditional values eroding. To some, the LGBTQ community is the ultimate pariah. To many in this popular mythology, so-called gay lifestyles are being openly taught in schools and have become popular on television and in society as a whole. For the religious right, especially in America, this move away from traditional values—heterosexual marriage, church attendance, and a kind of wholesomeness from some mythological bucolic time of the 1950s, or beforehand—when America was supposedly greater, and certainly more white-dominant—all point to a kind of social crisis.
Brazil is no exception to any of these recent trends toward right-wing populism and its adherent mythologies. In fact, Jair Bolsonaro, seemed to take a page out of Donald J. Trump’s political playbook in manner in which he ran his campaign, mostly through social media outlets as Facebook, Whatsapp, and Twitter.
On Sunday, in the run-off election against the left-leaning candidate, Fernando Haddad, of the Workers’ Party, Bolsonaro garnered 55 percent of the popular vote and won.
For the past decade, Brazil has become sick and tired of the Workers’ Party, the political party of the popular president, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva (“Lula”) and its corruption. Lula’s hand-picked successor, President Dilma Rousseff, was later impeached by the Brazilian Congress because of her cabinet’s bribery and corruption scandals known as “Operation Car Wash.” The scandals not only implicated members of Rousseff’s cabinet and the Workers’ Party but also members of the Brazilian Congress and the state-run oil company, Petrobras. And now, Lula himself is in jail on corruption charges.
To many Brazilians, it was unacceptable for the country to become another “Venezuela”—where socialism under President Hugo Chávez and now President Nicolás Maduro have failed economically.
Many of the same fears seen in America and Western Europe are also evident in Brazil. A down-trending economy from years of recession, a lack of jobs, the rise of crime, and the so-called erosion of traditional values are all manifestations of a Brazilian drift toward supporting a popular right-wing candidate like Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro began his career in the military and has been generally supportive of the past military dictatorship period in the country (1964-1985). He has vowed to bring back the military and clean up crime and put the army in the streets again.
Moreover, he has made his political career on making outrageous statements to the media and to the public. Such vitriolic rhetoric is loved by his supporters as much as it is adored by Trump’s devotees.
He has famously said he would not employ women equally, nor give them equal pay to men. In 2014, he shoved a fellow woman lawmaker and said he would not rape her because she was not worth it and too ugly.
Bolsonaro has likewise made outrageous homophobic statements such as iterating that he would rather have his son be a drug addict than gay.
He has said he will prosecute the leftist parties in the country and put them in jail or force them into exile. In 2016, in his impeachment vote against former prisoner Dilma Rousseff, he declared that vote was in honor of the memory of her torturer, Colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra.
Yet, what is perhaps most alarming of all is his promise to persecute Brazil’s endangered indigenous Amerindian population. Bolsonaro has vowed to eliminate the demarcation of Native territories in Brazil and open up the Amazon to economic development. If this comes to pass, there may not be any Brazilian Indians left living in the Amazon much longer. What is more, there may no longer be an Amazon in its natural state. A man-made environmental catastrophe of this sort would have devastating consequences not only for Brazil but for the world as well. The Amazon jungle has been referred to as the “lungs of the planet,” for its role in absorbing carbon and emitting oxygen.
In sum, what recent presidential elections in Brazil demonstrate are the fragility of democratic institutions. What happened in Brazil with Bolsonaro’s election to the presidency is a microcosm for world trends toward right-wing populism and neo-nationalism.
If such political trends continue we may see more sinister aspects of society coming to the fore and tearing society asunder with the rise of fascism once more.
This is a historical consequence nobody wants revived—a nightmare beyond any Halloween fantasy of evil zombies and ghouls and the rise of the dead. It is not an overstatement to say it may be the end of civil society as we know it.
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J. P. Linstroth is a former Fulbright Scholar to Brazil. He has a PhD from the University of Oxford. His first book is: Marching Against Gender Practice (2015).
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Leading Economist Raj Chetty to Address the National Summit on Education Reform
The Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) announced that Raj Chetty from Opportunity Insights will be speaking at the 2018 National Summit on Education Reform on Thursday, December 6 in Washington, D.C. ExcelinEd’s flagship event brings together educators from across the country and internationally to discuss ideas on how to improve education equity for all children.
Is the U.S. a land of opportunity? That depends tremendously on where you grow up, according to research by Raj Chetty. One of the world’s leading economists, Chetty is addressing important social and economic questions regarding inequality and opportunity. Through Opportunity Insights, Chetty uses “big data” to understand how we can give children trapped in disadvantaged communities a better chance to succeed.
“Earlier this year, I had the privilege of getting a first-hand look at the groundbreaking work that Raj Chetty, John Friedman and others are doing through Opportunity Insights — a team of talented scientists working to analyze hyper-local demographics to improve upward mobility for Americans across the nation," said ExcelinEd Founder and Chairman Jeb Bush. "With education and economic success so closely intertwined, Raj has a lot to offer to those of us in education reform.”
Chetty is a Professor of Economics at Harvard University, where he researches empirical evidence and economic theory to design more effective government policies. He is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and the 2013 John Bates Clark medal. He is one of the youngest tenured professors in Harvard’s history.
During the 2018 National Summit on Education Reform, ExcelinEd and Governor Jeb Bush will host more than 1,000 legislators, state superintendents, policymakers and thought leaders working to build a brighter future for our nation’s families. The packed two-day event will feature notable keynote speakers and in-depth strategy sessions on evolving laws, new trends, successful policies and the latest innovations that are transforming education for the 21st century.
#EIE18 is the only conference of its kind to feature a broad range of quality, innovation and opportunity policies that prioritize student success.
Visit the National Summit website for details on this year’s event. Follow @ExcelinEd on Twitter for the latest news and updates, and use #EIE18 to join the National Summit conversation.
Keynote addresses and strategy sessions will be open to the media. Members of the press interested in covering the event must request credentials in advance by registering online.
The Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd) is a national leader in education reform. ExcelinEd is a hands-on, how-to policy and advocacy organization that designs and promotes model legislation and supports states with technical expertise, policy development and implementation strategies and public outreach.
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SILENT PLANET
PREMIERE NEW SONG/VIDEO
"VISIBLE UNSEEN"
WITH BILLBOARD
WATCH HERE
NEW ALBUM WHEN THE END BEGAN
OUT TOMORROW VIA SOLID STATE RECORDS
PRE-ORDER BUNDLES: silentplanetmerch.com
STREAM/BUY: silentplanet.lnk.to/WhenTheEndBegan
NOVEMBER 1, 2018 - LOS ANGELES, CA - Silent Planet are premiering their new song/video "Visible Unseen" exclusively today with Billboard. Watch HERE. "Silent Planet's upcoming third album, When The End Began, has some high-minded concepts", Billboard notes. "But on the track 'Visible Unseen,' any abstraction associated with those ideas is channeled into a much more concrete meaning." "Visible Unseen", comes just one day ahead of the official release of When The End Began-Silent Planet's latest album on Solid State Records. Pre-order for When The End Began is available HERE. In support of the release, Silent Planet are currently on a fall co-headlining tour with Stray From The Path. See below for a full list of dates. For more information on Silent Planet, please visit: https://www.silentplanetband.com/.
Since forming in 2009, Silent Planet have steadily gained traction by playing local venues throughout California and expanding to the DIY touring scene throughout the United States. Over the past 9+ years, the band gained prominence thanks to their vast array of influences, anchored by Russell's master's degree in psychology and field experience as a mental health therapist. As a result of their continued momentum, Silent Planet took home the "Underground Band of the Year" award at the 2017 APMA awards.
Produced by Will Putney, When the End Began captures Silent Planet's aggressive live sound while retaining their more exploratory ambient elements. Along with Russell's poignant lyrics, the band had a plethora of talent and skills to draw on for the new record. From the dynamic range of bassist Thomas Freckleton, to the progressive drumming of Alexrene Camarena and the diverse arrangements of primary song architect and guitarist Mitchell Stark, Silent Planet have managed their most deliberate, cohesive effort to date.
Speaking to the new record, Silent Planet say, "We want to connect and grow. These song are our way of giving back to so many of those who have given to us. On tour, we've met people isolated by bigotry, marred by addiction, scarred by loss - these songs are for them and anyone else grappling with these situations."
"Hope doesn't have to be an abstract concept," they continued. "It can be an embodied reality."
When the End Began Track Listing:
10. Firstborn (Ya'aburnee)
11. Lower Empire
12. Look Inside: Awake
13. The Anatomy of Time (Babel)
14. Depths III
Tour Dates
11/1 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex *
11/2 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater *
11/3 Kansas City, MO @ Davey's Uptown *
11/4 Dallas, TX @ 2513 Deep Ellum *
11/6 Austin, TX @ Come And Take It Live *
11/7 Houston, TX @ Houston Underground *
11/9 Orlando, FL @ The Abbey *
11/10 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade *
11/11 Nashville, TN @ The End *
11/13 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean *
11/14 Detroit, MI @ The Shelter *
11/15 Lakewood, OH @ The Foundry *
11/16 Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground *
11/17 Ottawa, ON @ 27 Club *
11/18 Montreal, QC @ L'Astral *
11/19 Worcester, MA @ Palladium *
11/20 Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry *
11/21 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory *
11/23 Dendermonde, Belgium @ Zenith
11/24 Manchester, UK @ Satans Hollow
11/25 Birmingham, UK @ Asylum 2
11/26 Glasgow, UK @ Garage Attic
11/27 London, UK @ New Cross Inn
11/28 Trier, Germany @ Ex-Haus
11/29 Kiff @ Aarau, Switzerland
11/30 Brno, Czech Republic @ Eleven Club
12/01 Bialsko, Poland @ Rudeboy Club
12/02 Bratislava, Slovakia @ Kulturák Klub
12/03 Hungary, Budapest @ Dürer Kert
12/04 Wien, Austria @ Escape
12/05 Graz, Austria @ Explosiv
12/06 Inssbruck, Austria @ PMK
12/07 Ennepetal, Germany @ Christmas Rock Night
12/08 Ennepetal, Germany @ Christmas Rock Night
12/09 Leipzig, Germany @ Naumanns
12/10 Prague, Czech Republic @ Rock Café
12/11 Berlin, Germany @ Musik & Frieden
12/12 Schweinfurt, Germany @ Alter Stattbahnhof
12/13 Florence, Italy @ Cycle Club
12/14 Modena, Italy @ La Tenda
12/15 Milano, Italy @ Circolo Svolta
12/16 Karlsruhe, Germany @ Knockdown Festival
* = w/ Stray From The Path
Follow Silent Planet
https://www.facebook.com/silentplanetmusic/
https://www.silentplanetband.com
