Brazil: discontent over democracy a threat to political system

A recent opinion poll found that 83% of Brazilian are little or not at all satisfied with the country's current political system. Experts heard by Agência Brasil believe the result shows discontent over government institutions and reflects the impact of corruption cases recently brought under scrutiny, in addition to revealing that democracy in Brazil is under a threat.

Brasília-based Professor Vivaldo de Sousa argues that political turmoil such as the one faced by the nation today, may sap the strength of democracy. “It's alarming, because democracy, however flawed it may be, is the best political system there is,” he said.

The survey asked which political system is preferred among Brazilians. Forty percent chose democracy over all other forms of government. In the view of 15%, however, an authoritarian regime may be preferable under certain circumstances.

Political scientist João Feres Junior, from Rio de Janeiro, said that the focus of today's political coverage is essentially corruption. “It comes as no surprise, therefore, that people become skeptical about democracy and claim that a dictatorship would be better. I think it's part of the intensive campaign promoted by the media over the last few years to undermine the legitimacy of politics,” he maintained.

According to Professor Paulo Silvino Ribeiro, from the São Paulo School Foundation for Sociology and Politics, “if the State fails to fulfill its duties—in tackling both the economic crisis and the recurrent corruption cases—it contributes to the skepticism felt by the population towards the democratic institutions.”

He asserts that a sector of the society misconstrues what the period of military dictatorship really was. “According to the general opinion, a relatively significant economic growth took place during the military regime, and there was an orderly state of affairs—by which I mean ostentatious police work, of course—the enforcement of utterly conservative and reactionary values and notions which fare rather well in the popular imagination.”

New elections

The study also reveals that 62% of the respondents would rather vote in a new presidential election, which they describe as the best way to tackle the political crisis. According to the poll, 25% of the people argue for keeping President Dilma Rousseff in office, whereas a mere 8% think a possible administration by current vice-President Michel Temer would successfully address the situation.

João Feres Junior says that the 62% who want the end of the current government “are probably the product of a certain economic crisis associated with the media's anti-corruption campaign.” Of those who say they voted for Rousseff in 2014, 45% argue she should not be ousted, against 44% who back new elections. On the other hand, 77% of those who say they voted for Aécio Neves, the main opposition presidential hopeful in 2014, maintain that the answer to the political crisis is the removal of both Rousseff and the vice-president through a new presidential vote.

According to Feres Junior, the opinion poll should also be viewed from another perspective. “Indeed, the survey shows  beyond doubt that Michel Temer has no popularity at all. I'm not sure how many people know him well. We political analysts know who he is, but people don't—they voted for Dilma. They have no idea who this guy is.” In his opinion, it is a sign that a possible Temer administration would have to fight against the discontent—or even rejection—his name is likely to face. In this connection, Feres Junior argues that the electoral campaigning period is key to making society more politicized, as it is the only moment in which the population can become politically informed.

Professor Vivaldo de Sousa also contends that “in a straightforward analysis of the figures, the population prefers new elections. Dilma still has a larger electorate than Temer does, and there's a small percentage of people who believe he would be a better solution for the country than she. Nonetheless, the population thinks that neither is capable of solving the crisis,” the professor said. To his judgment, the impeachment effort against Dilma Rousseff cannot be considered a coup, as many of her supporters claim, and is actually a sign of how vigorous democracy is, because the stalemate “is being dealt with in an institutional way. We may criticize the Legislative, but the Supreme Court was heard and the president was allowed to defend herself. The term coup has been employed by the government. However, impeachment is not only legal, it's a political process,” he added.

In the opinion of Professor Silvino Ribeiro, the economic crisis “thickens” the pro-impeachment discourse as a solution to the political landscape. “It's self-evident that a nation assailed by so many social and economic problems ends up thickening the pro-impeachment discourse, as it views [the president's ouster] as politics moralized, the beginning of a new era,” he said.

“Our democracy hasn't built the immunity necessary to protect itself from a coup. The Brazilian democracy is under an ongoing process of construction. I believe, because it's still a process underway, that what we're experiencing is a sort of fragility which allows conservative, authoritarian and coup-mongering efforts to take shape,” Ribeiro remarked.

The opinion survey was conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE) from April 14 to 18, and the ratings were registered at their lowest since 2008, when this study was first carried out.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira