Political Violence on the Streets - NFT photography project looking at October 2022
Elections in Brazil in October 2022.
In retrospect, it is clear that since the 2014 election campaign, there have been the first clear signs of violent disruption in Brazilian democracy.
Very revealing in this context is the period following the re-election of Dilma Rousseff. The challenger, Aécio Neves, who was very narrowly defeated in the second round of voting, did not recognize the results of the electronic ballot box.
Without being able to present evidence at any point, the narrative of electoral fraud washed a climate of uncertainty into the country.
Investment came to a halt, social tensions increased, and inflation began to make itself felt. In December of that year, the losing candidate attempted to obtain an injunction through the Supreme Court to remove the elected government from office and install him as the legitimate president. The attempt failed, fueling distrust and street pressure to the extreme.
This violence of the 2014 election campaign left scars in the democratic camp. They have not healed to this day - quite the opposite.
HOW HOT CAN IT GET BY THE END OF OCTOBER 2022? CAN THE POSSIBILITY OF SERIOUS CONFLICT EXIST IN THE PERIOD LEADING UP TO THE SECOND-ROUND RUNOFF BETWEEN LULA AND BOLSONARO?
Without a doubt, this duel is dividing the country. The campaign could degenerate into violent conflict.
A promise since 2018 ... .
Bolsonaro has already indicated that he will not accept the election results in the event of defeat. He also keeps verbally toying with fantasies of a coup. However, it has become very clear in the course of 2021 that Bolsonaro does not have the backing in the armed forces that he imagines aloud in his illusions.
It is also clear in the camp of the New Right around Bolsonaro that a coup today is no longer carried out with tanks in the streets, but must be carried out from within the political system.
To do this, one must remain in power in order to weaken or even collapse the institutions. Also, courts, up to the Supreme Court, are to be staffed with ideological judges loyal to the line. This is the post-modern version of a coup.
Presidential Palace, Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
Now it all comes down to the Brazilians!
No matter how the situation develops, the central question here is what the reaction of Brazilian civil society might be. It is probably safe to assume that society would react very strongly and reject such attacks. Against this background, Brazil is much more mature than many observers from the outside would like to perceive.
On the other hand, the indications of an authoritarian/autocratic Bolsonaro project have been more than clear for many years.
The young Brazilian civil society should not be underestimated.
The great role model
Even before Hugo Chávez was elected president of Venezuela, Congressman Jair Messias Bolsonaro had described the Venezuelan's ideas as a model for the continent and he hoped that the model would also catch on in Brazil. Until the death of Hugo Chávez in 2013, Bolsonaro was an ardent admirer of the Venezuelan autocrat.
It is important to understand that it was precisely Hugo Chávez who made his way through the institutions, consistently expanding his power base along the way and using this network to erode state institutions.
In the group of global autocrats, Hugo Chávez is probably the post-modern model for carrying out a coup d'état.
Far too often, the separation is made with the smokescreens of "right-left" and therefore no logical link is seen between the Venezuelan autocrat and Bolsonaro, and the New Right. However, the link is not in the "right-left" discourse, but in the positioning as nationalist and autocrat.
The power game is played out openly
Looking ahead to 2022 and the ever-approaching October elections, there are two risks. The first is a confrontation between the powers. For example, another Supreme Court decision against President Bolsonaro, the executive branch, may once again be disregarded. Brazil has already experienced such situations in the current legislature.
The Supreme Court of Brazil, Brasília, Federal District (DF), Brazil.
What can undoubtedly also be observed with increasing intensity are the massive and rapidly radicalizing attacks on the electoral system in order to generate the narrative of fraud, attacks on the press, as can already be registered almost weekly, and precisely attacks on the judicial system as well as the fever dreams of a coup d'état.
The post-modern version of a coup d'état is fundamentally different from its predecessors.
The other way that Bolsonaro sometimes flirts with is to cause chaos and anarchy that justifies an authoritarian break to restore order. In this context, trying to escalate a chaotic situation around pandemic plus social chaos is a "strong ally" of the current Brazilian president. Like all New Right political leaders, Bolsonaro is an ardent supporter of chaos and anarchy. To fuel this breeding ground, gun laws have also been massively liberalized in recent years and an increased number of his supporters are now in possession of a sizeable arsenal of weapons which has tripled.
However, Brazilian civil society is much more mature than one might perceive from a rough look. This naturally raises the question of how this polarization scenario can be defused in the 2022 election campaign.
If Brazilians want, October 2022 will become much more than a regular national election
October 2022 may become a plebiscite: should the country continue on the path to representative democracy, or should an autocratic system be installed?
The new NFT photography project looks back at the years 2013 to 2016. Can we guess what may lie ahead for Brazil in October 2022? To what extent can one of the largest and also youngest democracies in the world be further shaken to its foundations?
The photomontages represent a unique historical document in the young Brazilian democracy.
The 2022 presidential election will have its first round on October 01, 2022; if no candidate receives at least 50% plus 1 of the votes, the second round will be held on October 30, 2022 between the first and second placed candidates.
Polling stations close at 05:00 p.m. local time. Until exactly this time, the unique photo montages can be purchased on the OpenSea.io platform.
A re-launch of the collection will not take place.
