André Singer: In stealthy authoritarianism, there is a façade of legality.
In an interview with presidential candidate Fernando Haddad, political scientist André Singer explains what constitutes a new form of authoritarianism, led by Jair Bolsonaro, that is disorienting the opposition.
247 - Political scientist and USP professor André Singer, in an interview with former minister and presidential candidate Fernando Haddad, explained that the authoritarianism exercised by Jair Bolsonaro can be classified as "stealth authoritarianism," a new guise for authoritarian politics.
He explains that stealthy authoritarianism "is a process that occurs differently from the classic coups we were used to, which is a coup that comes from outside the political system and that at a certain point breaks with the laws."
Singer highlighted three characteristics of this new authoritarian form of governance: the slow pace at which it breaks with democracy, the use of seemingly legal means, and the process being led by democratically elected politicians.
“It [stealthy authoritarianism] is incremental; it happens continuously, little by little. Every day the Executive Branch tries to expand its powers and suppress counter-powers. It tries to prevail until the moment when you imperceptibly fall into a dictatorship. The second characteristic is that it happens precisely within the laws, without breaking the laws. A very easy example for us here in Brazil is the impeachment of former President Dilma, because they used a loophole that existed within the laws. What this process generated was a rupture of democracy from within the laws. The third characteristic is that this process of stealthy authoritarianism is conducted by democratically elected leaders, so it doesn't come with a force from outside the political system, like the Armed Forces. The result is that it is very difficult for society to perceive what is happening, because apparently the institutions are functioning, there is a legal facade, a facade of normality that is made on purpose,” he explained.