How can Brazil bounce back after its elite-driven coup?

 






"Young people have been disappointed by PT, but they will be at the forefront of whatever comes next. “Many entered progressive politics thanks to this government, but feel the government has betrayed them,” Mathias explains. “These people are going to feel emancipated – it’s their turn to create the rules. Saying it’s a generational shift is too basic, but some people are going to be able to formulate thoughts in a different way than they have under the hegemony of PT’s ideology. We’re already seeing the seeds of that in terms of new social movements that are prospering.”

While many see the prospects for progressive politics looking bleak right now, Mathias argues it’s actually a moment of huge opportunity for the left to rebuild and better serve the demands of the new Brazil. “Sociologist Jessé Souza has identified a group of roughly 20% of the population who are trying to find new political references but don’t identify with the traditional structures,” he explains. “They’re called the batalhadores, the warriors: the new lower middle-class fighting every day to survive. They work in the service sector, call-centres not factories, and don’t relate to unions but they have a tendency for progressive politics. Social movements will have to find these new Brazilians in society and develop a new language to connect with them.”

In what many expect to be a very difficult and repressive period for social movements, there is also an opening for progressive politics to evolve and learn from the mistakes of the PT era – if they can be brave enough to look beyond the daily battles of today and lay down a broader vision. “I think the priority right now is not to confuse the urgent with the important,” Mathias explains. “Even though the immediate struggle against the new government will be very frustrating, reinventing social movements and establishing a new connection with Brazilian society should remain the focus. People shouldn’t be demotivated in the short term. I think the future for progressive politics is going to be way more interesting than what PT have provided over the last 15 years.”

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How can Brazil bounce back after its elite-driven coup?: