Table Of ContentSocieties and Political Orders in Transition
Carina Barbosa Gouvêa
Pedro H. Villas Bôas Castelo Branco
Populist
Governance
in Brazil
Bolsonaro in Theoretical and
Comparative Perspective
Societies and Political Orders in Transition
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HigherSchoolofEconomics,NationalResearchUniversity,Moscow,Russia
SteinUgelvikLarsen
UniversityofBergen,Bergen,Norway
WilliamReisinger
UniversityofIowa,IowaCity,Iowa,USA
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EkimArbatli
HigherSchoolofEconomics,NationalResearchUniversity,Moscow,Russia
DinaRosenberg
HigherSchoolofEconomics,NationalResearchUniversity,Moscow,Russia
AigulMavletova
HigherSchoolofEconomics,NationalResearchUniversity,Moscow,Russia
This book series presents scientific and scholarly studies focusing on societies and
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(cid:129)
Carina Barbosa Gouvêa
Pedro H. Villas Bôas Castelo Branco
Populist Governance in Brazil
Bolsonaro in Theoretical and Comparative
Perspective
CarinaBarbosaGouvêa PedroH.VillasBôasCasteloBranco
FederalUniversityofPernambuco(UFPE) InstituteofSocialandPoliticalStudies
Recife,Brazil StateUniversityofRiodeJaneiro(IESP-UERJ)
RiodeJaneiro,Brazil
ISSN2511-2201 ISSN2511-221X (electronic)
SocietiesandPoliticalOrdersinTransition
ISBN978-3-030-85021-0 ISBN978-3-030-85022-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85022-7
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Foreword I
The difficulty to interpret, comprehend, and manage some words is comparable to
the difficulty the great navigations had for many years with the instruments of
geolocationandmapsavailableatthetime.Oneofthesewordsis“populism.”
Populism can be taken by many concepts and used to express many political
structures,withplentyofideologicalorientationsandpurposes.Hencethedifficulty
in precisely establishing its content, such as the difficulty of precisely establishing
geolocationinpre-modernnavigation.
Thisphenomenonestablishesthetermpopulisminthematterpostedphilosoph-
ically by John L. Austin, especially in his book How to do things with words, in
which, right in the first part, receives the conceptual treatment of the performative
term(performative).1
In the theory of speech acts, the performative term would encompass linguistic
expressions that would often be meaningless in themselves (one meaningless).
Performance statements do not describe or record anything, therefore, they are
neithertruenorfalse.Furthermore,theactofexpressingthesentenceistoperform
an action, or part of it, an action that, in turn, would not normally be described as
consistentinsayingsomething.2
Theperformativestatements,outoftheappropriatecircumstances,areindisput-
able:theydonotsayormeananything,theycannotbesubmittedtoavaliditytest.
For example, the expression “live.” It alone does not mean anything, it can be a
commandforsomeonetocontinueliving,itcanbeanexpressionofexclamationfor
something positive, etc. This is the characteristic of the performative statements,
theyareindisputable,donotproveanythingandcannotberefutedastrueorfalse.3
1Austin,JohnL.Howtodothingswithwords.2.ed.Cambridge:HarvardUniversity,1975,p.4
ess.
2Idem,pp.4–5.
3Idem,p.6.
v
vi ForewordI
Thus,inAustin’stheory,humandignityisaperformativeterm,because,whenit
isisolated,itscontentcannotbedetermined.Theydonotservetoreportsomething,
buttoperform,sinceitscontentisonlyunderstandablewhensetamongotherwords,
concepts,andacts.
Inotherwords,althoughalothasbeentheorizedabouthumandignity,nomatter
howgreatthetextsonthethemeare,beiteitherbytheeruditionofitsfoundations,
orbythepoetryofitsconcepts,littlecontributionwillbemadetotheapproximation
ofthefundamentalhermeneuticconcept,sincethefinalverificationofunderstanding
willtakeplaceonlyintheforminwhichitisperformativelyemployed.Itisinthis
way that the possibility that two interlocutors defending antagonistic positions can
equallyjustifytheirargumentsonhumandignity.
Austinistheonewhointroduces,therefore,theideaofa“performativeconcep-
tionoflanguage.”Hissystematicproposal,laterdevelopedbyPierce,expressesthat
thelanguagecanbetreatedinasystematicway,aslongastheadequatecategories
are adopted for it, in other words, as long as the language is treated as a source of
actionandnotmerelyarepresentationofwhatisrealorofthedescriptionofthefacts
intheworld.4
ThedistinctionfromwhichAustinstartsreferstothedichotomyoftheconstative
and performative terms, in other words, between the use of sentences to describe
facts and events and sentences that are used to perform something, and not to
describe or report. For this reason, the constative terms may be true or false in
relation to the facts they describe; however, a performative is not really true nor
false,becauseitdoesnotdescribeafact,butitshouldbeconsideredassuccessfulor
unsuccessful,dependingonthecircumstancesandconsequencesofperformingthe
act.5
Itisinthissensethatwecanobservethepolysemyofthetermpopulism—reason
for which the authors of this paper were right in using it in a plural form. To
illustrate, we can point out the concept given by the Duden dictionary, in which
populismisdefinedas“politicsdefinedbyopportunism,popular,often,demagogical
[...] which aims to collect, through the dramatization of the political situation, the
preferenceofthemasses(aimingfortheelections).”6Suchaconceptdemonstrates
how easily this concept can be used in situations of political dispute, attributing a
flawtoanyofthecandidatesbytheirpoliticalenemies.And,insuchaway,theterm
does not require an explanation, because it already seems to bring with it its
pre-comprehensionelementsthatmakethewholecommunityrecognizesomething
as negative.7 Another way to comprehend populism is, on the other hand, as
4Souza Filho, Danilo Marcondes de. A teoria dos atos de fala como concepção pragmática de
linguagem. Unisinos Phylosophy Magazine, São Leopoldo, Unisinos, pp. 219–229 (220–221),
Sep/Dec.2006.
5Same,pp.224–225.
6Kunkel-Razum,Kathrinetal.(eds).Duden.DieDeutscheRechtschreibung.27.ed.,2017.
7Voβkuhle,Andreas.DefesadoEstadoConstitucionalDemocráticoemtemposdepopulism.
Brasília:IDP,2020,p.25.
ForewordI vii
somethinggood,liketheassociationsmadebetweenpoliticalcurrentsinthetransi-
tionfromtheXIXtoXXcenturies,whenfarmershadpartoftheirdemandsmetin
antitrustlegislationsandintheNewDeal.8
This is the panorama for this book: a semantic sea of arduous navigation, an
imprecisetheoreticalkaleidoscope.And,inthesamewaythatprecisioninstruments
werecreatedbasedonexternalconstantmarkers,makingsafenavigationspossible,
theauthorsmadeitpossiblewithinthescopeofthetheoryandconceptualizationof
populisms, presenting a precise theoretical map of the multiple formulations and
usesmadeofthewordspopulism,demonstratingthatthereareseveralpopulisms.
The debates in Political Science and Constitutional Law about populisms, their
effects, and risks to Democracy, are now able to count on a priceless theoretical
instrumentthatguidesandstructuressafemarkersinthecomprehensionanddeep-
ening of the theme. The readers of this book will find an essential theoretical
referenceinthefollowingpages.
Usually,apresentationtalksaboutitsauthors.Itisaneasytask,sinceIhavethe
privilege of knowing the great personalities that write this book, but it is equally
hard,sincethegreatnessoftheircreativities,mindsandsoulsmakesanyattemptto
reducetoterminsufficient.
Inordertorespecttheprotocolofacademicpresentations,Iwanttoregisterthat
Carina Barbosa Gouvêa is a permanent Professor of the Post-Graduation in Law
Program at the Federal University of Pernambuco (PPGD/UFPE), has a Post-
Doctoral Internship—Federal University of Pernambuco (PPGD/UFPE); has a
PhD and Master’s Degree from UNESA. She coordinates the Study Group in
“Theory of the separation of powers and the crisis of the Brazilian democratic
system” of the Post-Graduation in Law program at the Federal University of
Pernambuco (PPGD/UFPE). She works on Human Rights training at the Joaquim
Nabuco Foundation, and is a researcher at the Jurisdiction and Constitutional Pro-
ceedingsResearchGroupinLatinAmerica:ComparativeAnalysis(UFPE)andthe
Latin American and European Comparative Studies Laboratory (CECLAE). As a
lawyer, I am privileged to share the presidency of the Special Commission on
Bioethics and Bio law of the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association
withher.
In his turn, Pedro H. Villas Bôas Castelo Branco is an adjunct professor at the
Institute of Social and Political Studies (IESP) of the State University of Rio de
Janeiro(UERJ)andofthePost-GraduationinLawProgramattheVeigadeAlmeida
University (UVA). He coordinates the Laboratory of Political Studies of Defense
and Public Security (LEPDESP), a partnership between IESP and the Superior
School of War (ESG). He is the coordinator of the Brazilian Political Theory and
PoliticalThoughtworkinggroupoftheNationalAssociationofGraduateStudiesin
Social Sciences (ANPOCS). He was an adjunct professor in the Department of
Public Law at Federal Fluminense University (UFF) between 2009 and 2014 and
8Eichengreen, Barry.DieEntwincklungdesPopulismus indenVereinigtenStaaten.Leviathan,
n.45,p.180,2017.
viii ForewordI
an adjunct professor at the School of Political Science at the Federal University of
theStateofRiodeJaneiro(UNIRIO)between2010and2014.HebecameaPhDin
Political Science from the University Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro (past
IUPERJ current IESP-UERJ), in 2009. During his doctorate, he studied with an
extensionscholarshipundertheDAAD/CAPESagreementattheOtto-Suhr-Institut
fürPolitikwissenschaft(PoliticalScienceInstituteOttoSuhr)attheFreieUniversität
Berlin (Free University of Berlin), in Germany. He is experienced in teaching and
researchinginthePoliticalTheory,StateTheory,LawTheory,andPublicSecurity
Theoryfields.HeistheauthorofthebookUnfinishedSecularization:Politicsand
LawinCarlSchmitt,publishedin2011inBrazilandalsoinGermany,in2013,with
the title Die unvollendete Säkularisierung. Politik und Recht im Denken Carl
Schmitts.Lawyer,heisaconsultantmemberoftheSpecialCommitteeonBioethics
andBiolawoftheFederalCounciloftheBrazilianBarAssociation.
As I mentioned previously, the book that the reader has in hand is born as a
theoreticalreferenceforthecomplexanalysisofthetheme.AndIsaythisbyadding
that,forme,readingthisbookwasfundamentaltobroadenmytheoreticalhorizons
and to be able to advance my research in order to identify the existence of a
bio-populism.Itisaformofpopulisminwhichbiotechnologicalsciencesareused
both as an ideologically appropriate instrument to support measures contrary to
liberal constitutionalism, as well as a narrative theme to be used as a topic around
which values of an expressive part of society are added, usually of a conservative
nature.
Theappropriationofthebiotechnologicalsciencesdoesnotimplyinascientific
speech,whichpresumesanerrormargin,scientificevidence,refutability,replicabil-
ity,verifiability,andothercharacteristicsthatmarkscientificknowledgecurrently.It
isenoughthatitsoundscredibleandisextractedfromsupposedscientificknowledge
to achieve the necessary purposes. With this, bio-populism corresponds to a con-
temporary facet in the polyhedral complex that is populism, made possible by the
contextofpost-truthandthegrowthoffakenewsinmasscommunication,becauseit
doesnotmatterthatthetechniqueorthediscoursethatappropriatesbiotechnologyit
is true, it must be credible enough to have popular adherence and achieve the
proposedobjectives.
It is, therefore, another way of proceeding from populism, in which biopolitics
andtheimplicationsofbiopowerareusedtoachievethegreaterendsofthosewho
useit.
I wish readers a pleasant reading, hoping that the research can reach more and
moreeverytime.
PUC-Campinas,Campinas,SP,Brazil HendersonFürst
SpecialCommitteeonBioethicsand
Bi-lawoftheFederalCounsilof
BrazilianBarAssociation,
Brasília,DF,Brazil
Foreword II
Populist Governance in Brazil: Bolsonaro in Theoretical and Comparative Per-
spective, by Carina Barbosa Gouvêa and Pedro H. Villas Bôas Castelo Branco,
offers the Brazilian reader a thorough and sophisticated survey of the academic
debatearoundthemostrecentpopulistwavethathasbeenimposingitselfonmany
countriesinthelastdecade.Withabroadgrasponlegalliteratureandcontemporary
politicalScience onthenewpopulism, theauthorspresentacomplex panoramaof
this multi-faced phenomenon that has been putting liberal democracies at risk in
manycontinents,includingwheretheywererooted,suchastheUnitedStates,orin
which they seemed stable, such as India and Brazil. Although Donald Trump’s
defeat in the 2020 elections may point to a cooling of the populist wave, the
permanency of the structural difficulties presented by liberal democracies in a
growing inequality context, that favors the ascension of populist leaders, indicates
thatwewillhavetolivewiththisspecifictypeofthreattodemocracyforsometime.
Contemporarypopulism,accordingtotheauthors,emergedinaneconomicaland
financialcrisisadeeperliberaldemocracycrisiscontext.Theascensionofeconomic
inequalityandtheescalationofthedisbeliefinpoliticswouldrepresentthefailureof
liberal elites in fulfilling their promise of political practice base in moderation and
consensus, in recognizing minority rights, and in mutual tolerance. This led to the
crisisofliberaldemocracy.Inthiscontext,populismpresentspremisesverydifferent
than the one pluralist liberalism presents, such as political polarization, at the
expenseofseekingconsensus;popularhomogenization,attheexpenseofrecogniz-
ing the heterogeneity of groups in the political Community; the overlapping of
conservativeandexclusivevaluesonprogressivism.
Carina Barbosa Gouvêa and Pedro H. Villas Bôas Castelo Branco are not
satisfied, however, in performing an exquisite review of the bibliography on con-
temporary populism. The goal of these Young authors is more ambitious. Starting
fromGáborTóth’sconception,whodefinespopulism asaformofliberalism,they
seek to verify if Bolsonaro’s and his government’s conducts can be configured as
populists.Borrowingasetofpopulismindicatorsfrommanyauthors,theylaunched
attheendeavortoanalyzeBolsonaro’sbehaviorandhisgovernment.Accordingto
ix
