Manifesting Democracy?. Группа авторов

Читать онлайн.
Название Manifesting Democracy?
Автор произведения Группа авторов
Жанр География
Серия
Издательство География
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781119331247



Скачать книгу

it, and taking it over. Such urban mobilizations, and the subtle forms of political expression in Brazil they signal, challenge long-held stereotypical views of the population’s passivity and the country’s spirit of ‘cordiality’ that position conflicts in public space as anathema to national identity.

      Figure 1.2 Political graffiti in São Paulo, 2013.

      It must be stressed, however, that these demographics were not uniform throughout Brazil. As Chaui asserts, ‘the demonstrations were not homogeneous.’ Indeed, André Reyes Novaes and Mariana Lamego (Chapter 4) reveal that many students participating in the protests in Rio were not middle class but rather from poor, working-class backgrounds. Students from their own university who took part in the manifestações were born and raised in underprivileged areas of the city. As members of the Movimento Estudantil Popular Revolucionário (Popular Revolutionary Student Movement), these students had already taken part in numerous protests before 2013 and regarded the June Days as the ‘product of previous actions and mobilizations.’ The manifestações, then, were not a bolt out of the blue for all Brazilians. For some it was the outcome of dissatisfactions felt especially amongst young people, including the young working class.

      Figure 1.3 ‘When your child gets ill take him to the stadium.’ São Paulo 2013.

      This rejection of traditional party politics, including the PT, was exacerbated by political corruption. In 2005, while Lula was in office, reports surfaced of payments made to deputies in return for a pledge to support the government with their votes in Congress. The votes-for-cash scandal, dubbed the Mensalão (big monthly payment), led to an investigation that uncovered a number of construction companies who had bribed or given kick-backs to politicians from numerous political parties in return for profitable contracts. In 2012, 25 politicians, business executives, and operatives were convicted of fraud, with 12 of them receiving prison