Brazil’s presidential election was a battlefield of puerile name-calling and regional division leaving a taste of bitterness across the country
“Let’s divide Brazil”, “let’s move to Miami” and “let’s demand an impeachment.” These were just some of the recurring statements circulated by voters of Dilma Rousseff’s opposition upon her re-election. Rousseff’s Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores or PT) was re-elected with 51 per cent of the votes, whereas Áecio Neves’ Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB) took just over 48 per cent.
This close-fought run-off transformed social media into an arena where voters from both parties engaged in a name-calling-fest. PSDB voters, often perceived as elitists, were called coxinhas (the name of a famous Brazilian chicken pastry) and reaças (an abbreviation of the word reactionary). Rosseff´s voters, the so-called communists, were named Petralhas, which translates as Disney’s DuckTales’ criminal characters, the Beagle Boys. In Portuguese the ‘pet’ of Petralhas sounds like PT, and this phonetic wordplay came in handy for the opposition in associating the Workers’ Party with numerous accusations of corruption since coming into power under former president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 12 years ago.
In fact, if there was one unifying element in this deeply divided Brazil, it was the accusations of corruption faced by both sides of the divide. On the one hand, Neves was accused of building an airport on his family’s land, practicing nepotism by employing relatives, and of misogynist behaviour. On the other, Brazil’s state-run oil company, Petrobrás, has been investigating the involvement of PT politicians in an alleged bribery scheme.
The campaigns were not centred around proposing viable alternatives for the country’s future, as much as they were about bringing to the fore new scandals involving the opponent on a daily basis. All of them were conveniently fed by social media, with voters sharing news of scandals from both reliable and suspicious sources. This led to endless debates, and the deletion or blocking of friends and followers.
It’s been exactly 30 years since the civil rights movement, Diretas Já, when millions of Brazilians went to the streets to push for free elections. With that in mind, the name-calling, debates and division that have marked the presidential election this year can be seen as a tragicomic facet of democratic Brazil. The opposition has a fundamental obligation to place the government under scrutiny, but some discourses pertaining to the anti-government movement have the potential to jeopardise the very nature of the democratic system.
There have been some bitterly disappointed PSDB voters that have pressured for further investigation into Petrobrás’ bribery scandal, hoping it will lead to an impeachment. Other members of the opposition have gone as far as inciting military intervention.
At these times of inflation fears, there is also the anxiety that ‘communist’ President Rousseff, who was arrested and reportedly tortured during the military dictatorship (1964-1985), will align herself with countries like Venezuela and aggravate Brazil’s currently faltering economic situation. Opinions also diverge greatly on Bolsa Família, a ‘family allowance’ cash-transfer scheme. Seen by PT voters as a measure to tackle inequality and improve welfare, Bolsa Família is the target of criticism by the opposition. The counter-party claim that it is a populist strategy that has created a coddled and lazy generation.
Moreover, along with the social class divide, often split into categories from Class A to Class E, this continent-sized country has also seen its regional rifts exposed as an outcome of the close election. Overwhelmingly favoured by the business community, Neves had support in the more affluent south-eastern part of the country where São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are located. The poverty-stricken north and north-east regions, where a high proportion of the electorate are recipients of Bolsa Família, voted for Rousseff.
The historical stigma faced by northern and north-eastern people in the south was intensified after the election, as a chain of derogatory comments, abuse and suggestions to separate the north from the south took over the internet. This led some users to share information of places where you could go to denounce prejudice.
The accusation of Bolsa Família being used as a powerful weapon of political campaigning by PT was one of the stronger allegations emerging against the winning party. Another reaction to this tough-won election were allegations of manipulation of the voting system in a country where voting is compulsory and conducted through electronic machines.
The race was full of twists and turns, including the death of a presidential candidate, Eduardo Campus, in a plane crash in August, and the bitterness is still ongoing weeks after the election. Rousseff’s speech after her poll win demonstrated an awareness of the fragmented country she now leads and the need for unity. But can beagle boys and chicken pastries find room for consensus?
Image from: http://www.vidalatinasd.com/news/2014/Oct/21/polls-show-rousseff-beating-neves-six-days-before