The Brazilian Left in the 21st Century: Conflict and Conciliation in Peripheral Capitalism (Marx, Engels, and Marxisms)

This book aims to reconstruct the role played by left movements and organizations in Brazil from their process of renewal in the 1980s as they fought against the civil-military dictatorship, going through the Workers' Party's governments in the 2000s, until the Party’s dramatic defeat with a parliamentary coup in 2016. Henceforth, there have been attacks on social and political rights that severely affect the lower classes and reverted progressive policies on various issues. Through a historical reconstruction, this book analyzes how different left movements and organizations contributed to the democratization of Brazilian society, and how their contradictions contributed to the actual conservative turn. The essays also focus the development of Brazilian Left in the light of socialist politics and especially Marxism, both in terms of political organizations and theory. In this sense, the essays in this collection represent an effort to rethink some aspects of the history of the Brazilian left and how it can reorganize itself after the conservative turn. Series Foreword 6 The Marx Revival 6 Types of Publications 6 Studies on Marx and Engels 7 Critical Studies on Marxisms 7 Reception Studies and Marxist National Traditions 7 Titles Published 8 Titles Forthcoming 9 Preface 10 Contents 17 Notes on Contributors 19 List of Figures 21 List of Tables 23 Chapter 1: Introduction 24 The Beginnings of the Brazilian Left: Anarchists and Communists 25 Divisions Within and Outside the Communist Party 28 Caio Prado Jr. and Florestan Fernandes 31 Beyond Stagism and the Critique of “Autonomous National Development” 33 The End of Civil-Military Dictatorship and the Rise of New Social Movements 38 After the 2016 Coup 40 References 41 Part I: The Workers’ Party and Its Administrations 44 Chapter 2: The Development of the Workers’ Party: The Rise and Fall of a Star 45 The Quest for Class Autonomy 47 The State’s Force of Attraction 52 The Organization of Impoverished Workers and the Acceptance of Dominant Social Forms 58 The End of a Mobilization Period? 63 References 65 Chapter 3: From a Rooseveltian Dream to the Nightmare of Parliamentary Coup 67 A Brazilian Rag-and-Bone Shop 73 The Dilma Moment 80 Translators 88 References 88 Chapter 4: The Choices of the Left: The Paradox of the New Developmentalist State 90 Introduction 90 What Is New About the New Developmental State? 93 The Institutional Participation of Civil Society: Prospects for Political Inclusion and Enlarging Democracy 99 The Emergence of Leftist Governments: Promises Renewed 103 Conclusion 107 References 108 Chapter 5: Democracy and the Left in Contemporary Brazil 112 From “Proletarian Dictatorship” to “Democracy as Universal Value” 115 The PT and the Debate on Democracy 120 Conclusion: De-democratization and Astonishment 125 References 128 Part II: Social Movements and Special Issues 131 Chapter 6: Labor Movement in Brazil: Challenges and Opportunities for a Left-Wing Labor Politics 132 Introduction 132 Trade Union Activity in Numbers 133 Brazilian Trade Unionism and Work Ethic as an Ethic of Social Security 140 The Brazilian Utopia 145 The Labor Movement and the Lula Government 148 A Future for the Labor Movement? 150 References 155 Chapter 7: Feminism and Democracy in Brazil 158 Feminist Movements and the Making of Democracy, 1980s 160 The Paradoxes of the 1990s 164 A Deeper Dive Toward the State and the Multiplication of Feminism, 2000s 166 Feminisms Contested and the Limits of a Democratic Cycle 170 A Brief Conclusion 173 References 174 Chapter 8: The Workers’ Party and the Racial Agenda in 21st-Century Brazil: The Need for a New Project of the Left Against Racial Inequality 178 The PT and the Agenda of Promotion of Racial Equality 181 PT’s Government and the Politics of Alliances 185 The Racial Issue: What Was the Lot of the Black Population Under That Dispensation? 189 The Racial Equality Statute: Sidelining the Racial Issue Within Brazil’s Largest Leftist Party 193 Conclusion: Beyond the Left—The Need for a Decolonizing Project 196 References 198 Chapter 9: The LGBTT Movement, the Brazilian Left, and the Process of Democratization 201 References 220 Chapter 10: Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Communities and the Environment: The ‘Territorial Question’ Under the New Developmentalist Agenda in Brazil 223 Introduction 223 New Capitalist Frontiers and Territorial Conflicts 225 Deregulation and the Increase in Violence 230 The Ecological Modernization Paradigm and the New Developmentalism 234 The Political Ecology of the Urban and the Environmental Justice Perspective 237 The Territorial Question 242 Final Considerations 248 References 250 Chapter 11: June 2013, Five Years Later: Polarization, Reconfiguration of Activism, and Challenges for the Brazilian Left 255 Introduction 255 June 2013 and the Process of Social Opening in Brazil 258 The Parliamentarian Coup Architecture and the Multidimensional Nature of the Protests’ Impacts 260 Social Movements and Societal Transformation 263 The Reconfiguration of Activism in Brazil (and the World) 268 Final Remarks: June 2013, Contentious Activisms, and the Future of Brazilian Left 271 References 273 Chapter 12: Post-democracy and Neoliberalism in Contemporary Latin America: The Rise of the Left Turns and the Brazilian Democratic Failure 276 Introduction 276 Authoritarianism, Transition and Democracy in Latin America During the 20th Century 279 Latin America’s Left Turns in the 21st Century and the “Good” Example of the Brazilian left 285 Is There Coming a Post-democratic Cycle in Latin America? Notes on the Brazilian Democratic Failure 293 Conclusion 297 References 298 A Brief Afterword: Brazilian Left Faces the Rise of Neofascism 301 Index 313 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxv Introduction (Vladimir Puzone, Luis Felipe Miguel)....Pages 1-20 Front Matter ....Pages 21-21 The Development of the Workers’ Party: The Rise and Fall of a Star (Vladimir Puzone)....Pages 23-44 From a Rooseveltian Dream to the Nightmare of Parliamentary Coup (André Singer)....Pages 45-67 The Choices of the Left: The Paradox of the New Developmentalist State (Evelina Dagnino)....Pages 69-90 Democracy and the Left in Contemporary Brazil (Luis Felipe Miguel)....Pages 91-109 Front Matter ....Pages 111-111 Labor Movement in Brazil: Challenges and Opportunities for a Left-Wing Labor Politics (Adalberto Cardoso)....Pages 113-138 Feminism and Democracy in Brazil (Flávia Biroli)....Pages 139-158 The Workers’ Party and the Racial Agenda in 21st-Century Brazil: The Need for a New Project of the Left Against Racial Inequality (Joaze Bernardino-Costa)....Pages 159-181 The LGBTT Movement, the Brazilian Left, and the Process of Democratization (James N. Green)....Pages 183-204 Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Communities and the Environment: The ‘Territorial Question’ Under the New Developmentalist Agenda in Brazil (Klemens Laschefski, Andréa Zhouri)....Pages 205-236 June 2013, Five Years Later: Polarization, Reconfiguration of Activism, and Challenges for the Brazilian Left (Breno Bringel, Geoffrey Pleyers)....Pages 237-257 Post-democracy and Neoliberalism in Contemporary Latin America: The Rise of the Left Turns and the Brazilian Democratic Failure (Luciana Maria de Aragão Ballestrin)....Pages 259-283 Back Matter ....Pages 285-298