by Steve Ellner
LAP’s Political Report 1459 titled “The Washington Consensus Arrives in Brazil,” takes an uncritical look at Jair Bolsonaro and his policies. At first glance, the article appears to be neutral and the authors, Marc Castillo and Sírio Sapper, impartial analysts. Neither of these initial impressions are the case and indeed elsewhere both authors have defended the policies of the Bolsonaro government. A careful reading of Political Report 1459 reveals that the article, albeit for the most part subtly, justifies Bolsonaro’s policies and his presidency. At the same time, there is absolutely nothing in it that is at all critical of the Brazilian president. Below I provide quotes from the article which demonstrate the point I am making.
Latin American Perspectives correctly does not adhere to a specific political line or ideology, but we are nevertheless on the left. I also believe it is acceptable that we publish articles that fall outside of the left side of the political spectrum or ones that are politically neutral (if such a thing exists). At the same time, we have not over the years published articles that even remotely support the positions of the political right.
“Political neutrality” may or may not exist for certain types of subject matter, but it certainly doesn’t exist for heavily charged issues like those related to the Bolsonaro government. To take a much more extreme example to help illustrate my point (but without the intention of casting aspersions on Castillo and Sapper in this regard), an article on Hitler that didn’t say anything good or bad about him could be interpreted as a justification of his actions. The same with an article on a mafia kingpin.
The following statements from the article may at first glance appear to be politically neutral, but in fact serve to enhance Bolsonaro’s highly questioned political legitimacy.
Here the authors point to the alleged success of the Bolsonaro in the fight against crime:
"Brazil's population is exhausted from the high crime rate. Wanting to arrest the out- of-control crime rate Michel Temer´s administration was noticeably successful in containing crimes in general and specifically property crimes.”
“Bolsonaro’s election victory was partially related to public safety concerns.… Through his presidency Jair Bolsonaro has pushed forth many new initiatives to deal with the grave issue of security in Brazil.”
“All these measures were aimed to shore up public safety in the face of calamitous crime and insecurity that have been and continue to be prevalent in Brazil. Comparing year to year crime statistics published by the National Security Information System (Sinesp) from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security for the years 2019 and 2018 crime fell across the board with homicides experiencing a 20.3% decline, homicides involving robbery fell by 23.8% and robberies of financial institutions fell by 41.5% (March 17, 2021)…. Bolsonaro’s approval rating is largely attributed to Public Safety measures (Venagilia, 2019).”
The article also uncritically discusses the privatization that took place under Temer and has been reinforced by Bolsonaro: “Brazil´s complex political system has inhibited Paulo Guedes and his economic team from making the progress that some expected; nevertheless there has been pension reform, the recent autonomy of the Brazilian Central Bank and the Law of Economic Liberty.”
“The mere presence and continuation of Paulo Guedes in Bolsonaro´s cabinet portends vast credibility and political capital to ease investor worries."
The article then turns to Bolsonaro’s verbal aggression: “To popular media Bolsonaro´s presidency seems to be in a perpetual state of balance regarding his governance, however, there is no better even keel to the tumultuous president´s rhetoric than his agenda for free-market reform that serves to counter any notion of dictatorial perceptions.” The wording leaves the impression that his rhetoric is somewhat innocuous. No mention of Bolsonaro’s notoriously racist, misogynist, homophobic, and anti-immigrant statements.
The article ends on a positive note about Bolsonaro’s legacy: “A robust transformational process has taken hold in Brazil in terms of economic and financial progress with a distinct capitalist bent. Irrespective of who wins the presidency in 2022 the neoliberal economic groundwork has been laid and it is extremely doubtful that there will be any regression as the largest South American country attempts to become a more open and less protectionist.”
Bolsonaro can count on the commercial media to discuss his allegedly positive accomplishments. Indeed, the Wall Street Journal endorsed his presidential candidacy. Latin American Perspectives – as has always been our policy in other contexts – should refrain from publishing articles that fail to underline Bolsonaro’s criminal actions and behavior and those of his ilk.
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