Democracy and the construction of new political pact in Brazil: impasses and analytical possibilities

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

The impeachment of Dilma Rousseff marked the interruption of a process of democratic development in Brazil which began in the 1980s with the end of twenty years of military rule. This process was sustained by an informal pact among the most significant political actors on an agenda for expanding rights and tackling inequalities.
Throughout this democratic cycle two political parties, PT and PSDB, dominated the electoral competition for the presidency, taking turns in the roles of situation and opposition. Despite their distinct political projects, the growing party fragmentation of the political system, and the rising costs of sustaining parliamentary political coalitions, a successful process of democratic construction occurred during this period.
The pact started to come apart, however, in 2014, when after his defeat candidate Aécio Neves (PSDB) officially challenged the electoral results in the Electoral Court. From then on, opposition to Dilma and PT coalesced around a movement demanding her impeachment. A turbulent process of conservative upheaval fueled by the political activism of the judiciary and the media created the conditions for her removal, which took place in August 2016. Despite the controversy about the validity of the impeachment process, one thing is certain: the pact had been destroyed.
The presenters in this round-table will address political, institutional, and social aspects of Brazilian democracy in this time of crisis with a view on the impasses and possibilities for a new democratic pact after Brazil’s 2018 general elections.

Sub Track

• Political Institutions and Processes

Session Organizers

• João Feres Júnior, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

• Marjorie C Marona, UFMG - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, INCT - Instituto da Democracia e da Democratização da Comunicação

Chair

• Rafael R Ioris, University of Denver

Discussant

• Fabiano G Santos, State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ)

Presenters

• Céli Regina J Pinto, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

• João Feres Júnior, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

• Flávia M Biroli

• Leonardo Avritzer, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

• Gabriel L Negretto, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas

• Claudia Heiss, Universidad de Chile

• Enrique Peruzzotti, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella