'Popular sovereignty is necessary to counter the destabilization of democracy'

By Marcio Pochmann, for Rebuildables The coup implemented in 2016 imposed new destabilizing elements on the nation's democratic foundation. With just over 70 days until the general elections, insecurity and uncertainty prevail, weakening the Executive and Legislative branches and exalting the Judiciary, which remains devoid of popular sovereignty.

Faced with this previously unimaginable situation, there is increasing consideration of the emergence of another phase in national politics, driven by the arbitrary rise of the Temer government. Initially, this was due to the established class-based, employer-centric composition, comprised of a full arsenal of policies against the working class, translated into measures to withdraw labor rights and stifle trade unionism itself.

Simultaneously, the exclusive composition of wealthy individuals in the Temer government pointed to a preference for government policies aimed at excluding the poor and middle class from the public budget. Constitutional Amendment 95, which established a freeze on non-financial public spending, ensuring only commitments to paying interest on the public debt, serves as an example of the focus on redirecting public spending towards policies in health, education, housing, transportation, among others.

The effects of such a government quickly became apparent. In healthcare, this included the return of diseases previously considered eradicated (measles, polio, and others) and a sharp decline in infant mortality. In housing, there was a positive correlation between the increase in vacant properties and the rise in the number of homeless people, as well as a significant drop in construction activity throughout the country.

In the transportation sector, frequent increases in fuel prices and the resulting impossibility of using transportation in the country, as well as the rising cost of cooking gas, are being countered by the increased use of charcoal and firewood to feed the low-income population.

In education, the reduction in funding for higher education and dropout rates in secondary education are directly related to the growth of unemployment, particularly among the most educated segments of the population, and the decline in average family income.

To make matters worse, it is evident that, after more than two years of fiscal austerity policies driven by Temer's neoliberal prescription of handing over national assets, fiscal imbalance has worsened, there is no economic growth, and unemployment and poverty have become widespread.

Around 40 million Brazilians have been simply excluded from the productive sphere, whether they are the nearly 28 million precarious workers constantly seeking employment, or those relegated to poverty and living in the informal and clandestine economy.    

Fundamentally, two sectors were favored by the Temer government. On the economic side, the export segment benefited from the reduction in labor costs and the undermining of domestic consumption, and the rentier sector, led by banks, saw ever-increasing profitability.

From a socioeconomic standpoint, the strength of organized crime and churches serves as a support network for the new wave of disadvantaged people produced by the accelerated dismantling of public policies and the deconstruction of the national productive system. The previous prominence of the oil and gas sector, the infrastructure comprised of large national engineering companies, the shipbuilding industry, and others has been abandoned, further deepening the country's dependence on international interests.

The result of the increased concentration of wealth, income, and power combines with the acceleration of inequality between a privileged minority and the majority of precarious workers, impoverished by exclusion from public policies. Without a return to popular sovereignty, with the consequent and necessary reaffirmation of national sovereignty, the destabilization of democracy will be difficult to contain.