THE OFFENSIVE OF THE REACTIONARY RIGHT IN BRAZIL: critical analysis of Human Rights policy in the historical period of 2018-2022
Human Rights; Conservatism; Reactionary Right.
This dissertation aims to analyze the positions of the reactionary right in Brazil regarding human rights during the historical period from 2018 to 2022. The context we address is marked by the rise of Bolsonarism in the national political scene as a conservative reaction to the organic crisis that has affected the country over the past decade. In a tone contrary to the global scenario, characterized by the structural crisis of capital (Mészáros, 2002) and the rise of neoliberalism, which has impacted the crisis of left-wing forces, Brazil saw a left-wing presidential victory by the Workers’ Party (PT), resulting from alliances with centrist and right-wing sectors in an attempt at conciliation. However, this logic was completely undermined by the 2014 presidential elections, in which Dilma Rousseff's re-election opened the door for a resurgence of a resentful right with new expressions. What followed was shaped by electoral defeats suffered by political parties and left-wing segments, as well as the expansion of the right's influence in the state apparatus from 2018, with Jair Messias Bolsonaro, then affiliated with the Social Liberal Party (PSL), becoming president of the country. This project is grounded in a critical-dialectical analysis method, which seeks to unveil the contradictions of reality in its permanent motion. Accordingly, we engage in a theoretical-political discussion on the reactionary right in the country and its new strategies, as well as the challenges this scenario poses to the implementation of human rights policies in Brazil. For data collection, production, and analysis, we conduct documentary and budgetary analysis to support our investigation of the programs and projects of the Ministry of Human Rights and their restructuring throughout this historical process, using the 2016-2019 and 2020-2023 Multi-Year Plans. In our research, we encountered a scenario of chronic dismantling of policies related to human rights, both in the development of actions and in budget allocation, since their implementation as a ministerial axis. This dismantling is exacerbated by the strengthening of the political power of the reactionary right. As we highlight in this study, despite being forged with new elements, what is known as the new right is, in fact, the extreme expression of a new reactionary and resentful right. Theoretical production on the inflections of this reactionary right, particularly at its peak during the Bolsonaro administration concerning human rights, is indispensable for Social Work in the theoretical, political, and budgetary fields. Knowledge production is a crucial tool for understanding reality, especially in grasping the profound impacts of ultraconservatism and its influence on policies aimed at women, families, and human rights.