Brazil: The decline of progressive governments and the rise of the right

Abstract

Starting in the second decade of the 21st century, a debate began about the end of the cycle of progressive governments in Latin America and the rise of the right to power. This discussion highlights the characteristics of the process in its differences from traditional military coups and their evident breakdown of the constitutional order. The article takes up the debate to deal with the case of Brazil, one of the most paradigmatic on the continent, to illustrate this process. It is initially highlighted how the current situation has antecedents in the historical formation of a society with an unequal structure and the authoritarian exercise of power by an oligarchy that resists losing or sharing it. In the second moment, the circumstances that allowed the rise of Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff (2003-2016), from progressive forces, and their implemented programs with popular reach, as well as the opposition they faced, are described. Finally, the third and fourth sections show the dynamics of displacement of the projects they represented and how the various opposition forces articulated to meet their objectives. The discussion on the characteristics of soft coups, whether parliamentary or institutional, is presented, considering that they are the expression of the reality of the second half of the 21st century: the seizure of power by national conservative groups allied with international ones to guarantee the survival of neoliberal capitalism. It is concluded that this is an open debate, with further research needed.