Brazil: The patriarchal state in the process of collapse
Victoria Darling1
If there is one defining characteristic of patriarchal logic, it is discursive practice. Patriarchal discourse employs masculine forms, habits, and examples; it unfolds with verbs and grammatical forms typical of the masculine gender; and, moreover, it is primarily conducted among men. This closed circuit contains messages that appear encrypted to those who hear them but are not part of that group. In any case, one cannot help but feel excluded, since the forms and content are clearly limited to a set of interlocutors who understand these codes. Rita Segato states that, in situations of explicit violence, especially in her analysis of men who perpetrated sexual crimes and femicides, men act by exercising political domination in brotherhood. She calls this masculine solidarity a “brotherhood.” Thus, they would function like a corporation, “for a corporation there is no loyalty more important (…) I sacrifice anything in this world so as not to sacrifice that loyalty, which is lethal because a man will have to be a man first, we see that daily. The second characteristic is that the corporation is hierarchical within: “men are competitive but at the same time docile to their position in the corporation” (Segato, 2019).
Since the crisis in Bolsonaro's government erupted with the Covid-19 pandemic, the president has consistently sent messages to his political allies, rivals, and cronies. Public statements and pronouncements abound, seemingly aimed at the general public, but upon closer examination, they are clearly directed at his inner circle.
Recently, at the press conference where he offered the reasons for Sergio Moro's resignation from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, Bolsonaro elaborated on his personal relationship with the then-minister. He recounted the moment they met, his initial impression of Moro before meeting him in person, explained his feelings about being almost ignored by the former minister in an airport cafeteria, and justified their periods of closeness and distance during their time in government. There were no public reasons, typical of a democratic legitimacy at stake given the resignation of one of the key members of the National Cabinet, offered at the April 24th press conference. These statements, their content, and their intended audience were men speaking to each other. Men who, within a logic of power dynamics, regard each other with a complicit and empathetic understanding that borders on the amorous discourse of love.
"Eu semper abri o coração para ele [Moro], mas eu duvido se ele semper abriu o coração para mim. Eu semper disse aos meus ministers: a confiança tem que ter dupla mão. O minister quer que eu confie nele, quer e tem razão, mas eu também quero que o minister confie em mim." (UOL, 24/04/2020).
In turn, the President continued in a speech that grew increasingly emphatic, accusing Moro of betrayal for allegedly being more concerned about the murder of municipal councilwoman Marielle Franco than about the investigation into the stabbing that Bolsonaro himself received during his election campaign.
"Sergio Moro's Federal Police are more concerned with Marielle than with their supreme chef. I realize that all the people of Brazil want to know. Excuse me, sir, ex-minister, between my case and Marielle's case, it is much less difficult to solve." (UOL, 24/04/2020).
When the problem was clearly public, the former minister failed to live up to the established norms of the male code. The problem became personal. Only in this context and according to these codes can it be questioned that Moro prioritized the investigation of the case of a Black, lesbian, and feminist woman over the attack on a male colleague who was also white, a politician, and an ally.
Supporting the aforementioned logic, the photo from the press conference is telling of these statements. How many women are visible in the photo from the press conference?
The correct answer, though they are materially and symbolically invisible, is two. There is a woman behind the President, Damares Alves, the current Minister of Women, Family, and Human Rights. Damares is an evangelical pastor, a lawyer, and a representative of Protestantism within the President's inner circle. A fact that in another context would warrant closer examination is that, a month after assuming her Cabinet post, it was revealed that the Minister had allegedly adopted an Indigenous girl irregularly. In fact, due to the complaints filed, an investigation was requested by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office. Under the pretext of providing her with dental treatment, the Minister allegedly took Kajutiti Lulu Kamayurá, from the Xingu territory, to her home 15 years ago without the family's authorization. And the little girl never returned, with no legal documents in place to process a possible adoption.
“A child, at the age of 6, did not return, and the adoção was never formalized (…) There was a violation of the Statute of Criança and the Adolescent and the Statute of the Índio”, stated PCdoB deputy Jandira Feghali (Portinari in O Globo, 01-02-2019).
The second woman standing next to the president, on the far right but not in the photo, is Tereza Cristina Corrêa, the current Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply. Until 2018, Tereza led a political group in Congress that openly defends the interests of large landowners. Originally from Campo Grande, she comes from a family in which her great-grandfather, Pedro Celestino Corrêa da Costa, and her grandfather, Fernando Corrêa da Costa, both served as governors of the state of Mato Grosso. She was a driving force behind Bill No. 6299/02 of 2002, which aimed to streamline the procedures for regulating the use of agrochemicals. The bill received a favorable opinion. Because of this, environmental activists dubbed her the "muse of poison."
What is clear is that the profile of the women invited to participate in the National Cabinet is quite particular. On the one hand, it is linked to specific interests that do not challenge patriarchal logic in any way, but rather reinforce it; on the other, it is aligned with the logic of capital accumulation, which fosters the presence of large transnational groups, potentially favored by public policies. A separate analysis would be needed to examine how this logic also nourishes a hierarchical order of bosses who rub shoulders with bosses, of military personnel who are linked to military personnel, of alliances that permeate patriarchy and complicate it within structures of power and authority.
Women in politics in Brazil
Electoral Law 9.540 of 1997 mandates that 30% of all political parties' candidates be women. A Senate bill proposes increasing this quota to 50%. However, meeting these percentages is not being achieved. In fact, there are known cases of phantom candidates—women registered solely to fulfill the quotas. Furthermore, women's representation in the legislature is small and insignificant, and it remains restricted to families with historical prestige, high purchasing power, or significant political connections. As an example, half of the winners in the 2014 parliamentary elections were already members of parliament.
In Brazil, funding for political parties or independent candidates comes primarily from large corporations (generally construction companies, banks, or specific industries). Even though women make up 51% of the electorate, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), their presence in politics remains lagging and marginalized. As of 2018, less than 15% of the seats in Congress were held by women, and only one woman served in Michel Temer's cabinet.
The government of Jair Messias Bolsonaro only deepened the dimension of this exclusion. The president not only boasts of having a "beautiful, modest, and domestic" wife, but also of having shown weakness by having a daughter in his last opportunity as a father. The signs are clear: both material and symbolic.
The good news seems to be that this state structure, with its strong patriarchal imprint, is in the process of collapsing. Bolsonaro finds himself in a scenario bordering on a power vacuum. With the resignation or dismissal of two of his most highly regarded ministers—Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta and Sergio Moro, former Justice Minister—his political isolation is becoming increasingly entrenched. Meanwhile, nine ministers or secretaries with ministerial status remain in the Cabinet, all of whom are military officers or who trained at the Agulhas Negras military academy in Rio de Janeiro. This means that half of the Cabinet finds its legitimacy in the Armed Forces, a source that predates that of the retired colonel, now President.
Male nominations and alliances have become cryptic, and logic is corroding from within. The foundations are shaking; it's just a matter of finding the best vantage point to witness the collapse.
1 PhD in Political and Social Sciences (UNAM), professor at the Federal University of Latin American Integration, member of the CLACSO Working Group on States in Dispute.
Highlighted
– COLOMBARI, EMANUEL AND GONZALEZ, Mariana, “Decepçao com Moro, “mentoroso” e mais: Bolsonaro's speech in 10 sentences”, in UOL Noticias, Sao Paulo, 04-24-2020. Accessed on: April 25, 2020.
– PORTINARI, Natália, “Oposição charges that MPF investigate Damares Alves for adoção de criança indigenous”, in O Globo, 02-01-2019. Accessed on: April 25, 2020.
– SEGATO, Rita Laura (2019) “Women’s Political Role and Challenges of the Feminist Movement”, interview with Antonia del Solar Benavidez. Heinrich Boll Foundation, Santiago, Chile, July 17. Available at: https://cl.boell.org/es/2019/06/17/rita-segato-en-chile-politicidad-de-las-mujeres-y-desafios-del-movimiento-feminista.
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