The current phase of the coup and its different faces.
"There are common psychopathological characteristics, perceptible in the main Brazilian coup leaders: an unbridled desire for power, prestige, and flattery, and an immense moral and ethical weakness, typical of puerile personalities," says political scientist Robson Sávio Reis Souza, professor at PUC-MG; "To try to circumvent a possible social chaos, an avalanche of optimistic announcements and media programs is underway. The objective is to counter the police-state atmosphere that dominates the news – always hunting for selectively chosen culprits – and to buffer the plundering of public funds and the war between the coup plotters. The meeting that took place between the president and the owner of the official coup broadcaster, Rede Globo, in recent days, evidences part of this strategy," he states.
A coup always produces very serious ruptures in institutional, legal, economic, and social order. And this coup has an aggravating factor: unlike the civil-military dictatorship, when the military took control, bringing the other institutions into line (to generate some stability, by force), what we see now is a fratricidal struggle between the three branches of government for control of the coup.
The consequences of democratic breakdowns appear in various forms (power struggles, institutional instability, attempts at coups within coups...). In their attempts to circumvent them, the coup plotters always open new cracks, indicating that "new patches on old cloths" only serve to temporarily mask the chaos.
We all know that the coup in Brazil is sponsored by the United States, specifically by Wall Street (international financial rent-seeking). Although the American elections consecrated Main Street (the productive sector), in the figure of Donald Trump, international speculative capital, which concentrates income and wealth, needs to keep our country as an extractive colony (given our abundant natural resources) with precarious labor. Furthermore, according to US geopolitics, Brazil has no right to operate independently under any circumstances.
To undermine our weak democracy, international rentiers opted to sponsor a different kind of disruption. Instead of external invasion (impossible in a country of our size) or an alliance with the military (a methodology used in Latin America in the second half of the last century), they decided to rely on local figures to carry out the undertaking.
There are common psychopathological characteristics noticeable in the main Brazilian coup leaders: an unbridled desire for power, prestige, and flattery, and an immense moral and ethical weakness, typical of childish personalities.
Investing in this type of personality – people who have no limits; live in a parallel world; position themselves as citizens above good and evil and are obsessed with power at any cost – was the perfect and well-orchestrated move for implementing the coup. At the appropriate time, they will be discarded from the game.
Fundamentally, two strategies were used to create the conditions for the coup: first, to train carefully chosen individuals to meticulously execute the coup plot. And second, to use the mainstream media to deify these "saviors of the nation," distort facts, choose scapegoats, and create a climate of instability, hatred, and manipulation of reality.
The main indigenous figures behind the coup are: in the political field, Aécio Neves and Cunha (already ruled out), and in the legal field, Gilmar Mendes, Janot, Moro, and the Lava Jato prosecutors. Note that these characters share the same characteristics mentioned above: an unbridled desire for power, prestige, and flattery, and an immense moral and ethical weakness, typical of childish individuals. The friendly scenes between Aécio and Moro recently were further evidence of the coup plot, among many others.
Temer, as we have already discussed in another postIt's a kind of puppet. It is, literally, in the hands of those named above and others of the same ilk nestled within their party, the PMDB. Most likely, it will continue dancing to the tune played by the true coup leaders or will be solemnly discarded when its "mission" has been duly accomplished.
In the current phase of the coup, it is important to consolidate the conditions to return Brazil to its status as a colony of rentier capitalism. Therefore, it is necessary to annihilate the social rights enshrined in the 1988 Federal Constitution (formerly PEC 55 and the pension and labor "reforms"). To this end, there is an orchestration of actions in the political (executive and legislative branches) and legal-constitutional (Supreme Federal Court) fields.
However, due to the growing wave of popular dissatisfaction (captured in government approval polls) and the bitter dispute between the three branches of government (whose common goal is the self-preservation of their personnel, given the evident systemic and structural corruption that dominates them), the only remaining option is to resort to mass communication strategies in order to dissuade a popular revolt. It should be noted that only a revolt can stop the coup; after all, the weakening and disputes between the progressive and left-wing camps do not pose any real danger.
To try and avert potential social chaos, an avalanche of optimistic announcements and media programs is underway. The goal is to counter the police-state atmosphere that dominates the news – always hunting for selectively chosen culprits – and to dampen the plundering of public funds and the war between the coup plotters. The meeting that took place between the president and the owner of the official coup-supporting network, Rede Globo, in recent days, exemplifies part of this strategy.
On the other hand, to appease the anger of the economic sectors, which realized that the coup is deepening their losses, the government announced a package of benefits for the financial and business sectors and hardships for workers.
Imagine the stratospheric profits that will be made by the pharmaceutical, hospital, insurance, and health plan sectors with the dismantling of social security and public health, for example. These are some of the winners of the coup. Not even the military had such audacity. The cost of this adventure will be high...
It turns out that, in capitalist economies, the combination of a coup with an economic recession inevitably generates, in addition to uncertainty, an avalanche of fear, diffuse dread, and a "every man for himself" mentality. Concerned with survival, workers (the weaker party) initially retreat into their homes. This is why the streets are empty. But the recession imposes such precarious living conditions that resentful, racist, fascist groups, driven by fear and hatred from all social segments, emerge, leading to an uncontrollable situation sooner or later. We are already beginning to experience this situation.
Those who envision a promising future under these conditions are mistaken, especially in a country where justice has always been selective and discredited, and where institutions of reference, such as churches, are also subject to public distrust.
Either the country returns to the path of democracy (the least bad arrangement), through popular vote, or we will fall into a state of barbarism.
* This is an opinion article, the responsibility of the author, and does not reflect the opinion of Brasil 247.