{"id":44388,"date":"2024-10-04T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/?p=44388"},"modified":"2024-10-21T04:25:03","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T07:25:03","slug":"the-new-season-of-dystopian-politics-in-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/the-new-season-of-dystopian-politics-in-brazil\/","title":{"rendered":"The new season of dystopian politics in Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the live debate between the candidates for mayor of S\u00e3o Paulo, the largest city in Latin America, on September 15, the level of brutality stayed consistent with previous ones. However, a surreal event marked the elections: Jos\u00e9 Luiz Datena, the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) candidate, one of Brazil\u2019s most traditional parties, attacked Pablo Mar\u00e7al<\/a>, the Brazilian Labour Renewal Party (PRTB) candidate, with a chair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the attentive viewer, this shocking event wasn’t entirely unexpected\u2014sadly\u2014given Mar\u00e7al\u2019s provocations. A few days later, on September 23, Mar\u00e7al was expelled from another debate, this time following physical aggression, where one of his aides assaulted the publicist of S\u00e3o Paulo’s current mayor, Ricardo Nunes (MDB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand the Mar\u00e7al phenomenon, we turn to Italian author Giuliano Da Empoli. In his book \u201cEngineers of Chaos\u201d, Da Empoli describes the factory and modus operandi that spawned figures like Pablo Mar\u00e7al, who entered politics with a clear objective: to change the democratic foundations of power. It might sound like another Orwellian dystopia, but the scariest part is that these events are happening globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Latinos in common<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pablo Mar\u00e7al’s election campaign mirrors many elements that propelled Javier Milei to Argentina\u2019s presidency. These include anti-government, anti-political rhetoric, robust digital communication strategies, and the shamelessness of offending with brutality, without worrying about sounding ridiculous, incoherent, or alienating parts of the electorate\u2014just to grab attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Salvador offers another example<\/a>: Nayib Bukele, described by Mar\u00e7al as a \u201cyoung guy\u201d and a \u201csocial media president,\u201d but also accused of human rights abuses for enforcing security policies under an emerging state of exception. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These figures share a similar playbook, with minor differences in implementation, possibly tied to generational or regional specifics. Their strategy centers on three pillars: stoking resentment and passion, exploiting digital communication\u2014using cuts, distortions, and fact manipulations, taking advantage of legal gaps\u2014and empty political criticism, radical but with little factual substance. In other words, these political actors use socio-economic issues, and through mass digital communication and cherry-picking facts, they create narratives that support their worldview: convenient distortions of reality. Their goal is to introduce chaos into the democratic system and seize power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, Bolsonaro paved the way in 2018, but later tried to adapt to the traditional political game and had to drop his\u2014illegitimate\u2014anti-system stance. This \u201ccentrist\u201d shift in bolsonarism<\/em>, seen in the timid support for Ricardo Nunes\u2019 re-election (through Bolsonaro\u2019s party PL), left many former followers feeling abandoned, and Mar\u00e7al has seized this section of the electorate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From myth to phenomenon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our new engineer of chaos has been replicating proven techniques, positioning himself as the fresh challenger to Brazil\u2019s political and electoral system. Involved in several electoral court disputes\u2014raising rumors\u2014he\u2019s amassed controversy and headlines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This visibility, based on \u201csay bad things, but say my name,\u201d made him more recognizable to voters, reaching 20% in the polls, putting him among the top three contenders. He also became the most followed candidate on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From myth to phenomenon, we\u2019re now witnessing a new Black Mirror-esque season during the electoral race for the mayoralty of Brazil\u2019s economic powerhouse. Proposals? Numbers? Technical data on the city? No. Mar\u00e7al speaks nonsense, delivering just the fragments that algorithms demand, often struggling with consistency. But it doesn\u2019t matter, because the information overload diverts attention, skillfully shaping public perception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Armed with his wealth\u2014acquired through a highly controversial career\u2014and digital capital, he sought to \u201crent\u201d a party (the PRTB\u2014Partido Renovador Trabalhista Brasileiro), a previously insignificant player on the national political stage, to institutionalize his venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mar\u00e7al\u2019s provocative and combative style reflects the \u201cnaturally populist\u201d character noted by Da Empoli. To set himself apart, Mar\u00e7al blends arrogant superiority with \u201cone of us\u201d humility. On the one hand, he promotes himself as a successful businessman with multimillion-dollar assets. On the other, he symbolizes the ordinary, hardworking citizen striving for prosperity. His typical attire reflects this contrast: a suit paired with a cap sporting his logo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former coach taps into deep-seated societal wounds, especially among those who feel unrepresented, who distrust politics, but long for miraculous life changes while grappling with harsh realities. Through the association of his image with the symbolism of prosperity, Mar\u00e7al found his strength to grow. Unsurprisingly, his support is strongest among young people from the outskirts, high school graduates, informal workers, and evangelicals\u2014segments coveted by both the left and right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consequences for democracy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This chaotic figure has been committing some of the most grotesque acts without scruples, and the damage is still being calculated. Recent incidents of aggression mark the culmination of this season led by Mar\u00e7al. No physical aggression should be justified, but the truth is Mar\u00e7al crafted his own plot and has dictated or influenced the script more than his rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though there\u2019s skepticism about Mar\u00e7al\u2019s rise, especially with the strong campaigns of the two main competitors\u2014Ricardo Nunes and Guilherme Boulos (PSOL, backed by President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva)\u2014the greatest damage has been to democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are seeing the clash between the methods of the so-called digital economy, unbound by regulations or guidelines, and traditional political practice, governed by rules that don\u2019t account for new social and dynamic realities. It\u2019s a double game, exploiting regulatory loopholes while taking advantage of an outdated system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The real concern isn’t whether Mar\u00e7al wins S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s mayoralty\u2014recent polls show he’s lost momentum and stabilized in third place\u2014but his ability to inspire followers and secure seats in the Legislature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps underestimating his dangerous rise is a mistake. The signs aren’t promising, and they should serve as a warning. It\u2019s a sad realization that our institutions, once again, lag behind the times. Ignoring the deep fissure that has opened in the political order may be the easiest way out, but it’s also the most problematic, likely to cause greater damage in the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pablo Mar\u00e7al’s election campaign mirrors many elements that propelled Javier Milei to Argentina\u2019s presidency, including anti-government, anti-political rhetoric and robust digital communication strategies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":671,"featured_media":44358,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17009,16852],"tags":[15635],"gps":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-44388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-outsiders-es-en","8":"category-brasil-en","9":"tag-debates"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/671"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44388"},{"taxonomy":"gps","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gps?post=44388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}