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Activism is perplexed by accusations, says expert on social movements

Maria da Glória Gohn believes that the next ten days will be crucial for measuring street temperatures

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A scholar of social movements, professor Maria da Glória Gohn, from the Faculty of Education (FE) at Unicamp, states that activists are experiencing a moment of perplexity with the serious accusations made by JBS against President Michel Temer (PMDB) and Senator Aécio Neves ( PSDB). “The events of last week left people surprised, outraged, stunned. This perplexity must be overcome, as the media itself is leading to a more legal than political resolution. It is in the hands of the Judiciary. I believe that the next ten days will be crucial to observe what the population's reaction will be”, predicts the professor, referring to the trial of the Dilma-Temer ticket by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), scheduled for June 6th.

Photo: Antonio Scarpinetii
Professor Maria da Glória Gohn, author of the book “Demonstrations and protests in Brazil – Currents and countercurrents”: work maps around 30 movements

Maria da Glória Gohn had her most recent book, “Demonstrations and protests in Brazil – Currents and countercurrents”, released this Monday (22) by Cortez Editora. And yesterday (23) she participated in the event “From the streets to the polls? Citizens’ perceptions of the direction of Brazilian democracy: from June 2013 to the present day”, organized by the Center for Public Opinion Studies (Cesop), within the Permanent Forums on Public Policies and Citizenship, designed and sponsored by the General Coordination of the University ( CGU).

Still analyzing the consequences of the JBS accusation, the Unicamp professor sees different reactions from social movements. “We have a little bit of everything. At first, one had the impression that alliances would even occur around 'Fora Temer'. The Movimento Vem Pra Rua, for example, rehearsed a demonstration on Avenida Paulista, but suddenly I saw in the newspaper that they are not in favor of direct elections, that the Constitution must be respected and, therefore, that if Temer leaves there will have to be indirect elections – and for this Congress that is there, which is also a big point of questioning.”

In this context, according to Maria da Glória Gohn, the conduct of social movements is defining and redefining itself every hour, with every news item. “And again the media plays a very important role, but only the media on one side; An alternative media capable of creating consensus and clearer objectives does not exist. There is so much that there was no population on the street on Sunday [by Fora Temer, on the 21st] and not just because of the rain and cold, as was said. The issue of [labor and social security] reforms may bring more people to the streets. In the current scenario, what can be seen, given this disorganization and stupefaction, is a certain rearticulation of movements.”

A different aspect noticed by the researcher in the capitals where demonstrations took place this past Sunday was the presence of students, in addition to the CUT and other movements that it calls classic. “The question is to investigate which students these are: whether they are university students, the UNE or whether high school students are also taking to the streets – it would be a different rearticulation from the traditional one, as there would be a new element if the high school students also joined the latest demonstrations, considering that Their mobility is restricted by their age group: there are several cases where their parents don’t let them and other things like that.”

The FE professor also commented on the silence of the protesters who took to the streets calling for impeachment and against corruption, and of those who banged pans on the windows. “The division of society, the polarization between PT and non-PT, between pro-Dilma and non-Dilma was such that it seems to me that for part of the population the conflict would have ended with the impeachment of the president. There were, still in December, demonstrations called by Vem Pra Rua and Brasil Livre, with an agenda referring to the current political crisis and in defense of Lava Jato, but with a very small participation, because most of those who banged pots felt that there had already been defeated. Whether the pans will return now, in 'Fora Temer', is unknown.”

Photo: Reproduction
Protesters in Brasília, on the 17th, shortly after the news about the allegations was released 


Mapping the movements

Maria da Glória Gohn's book addresses “Demonstrations and protests in Brazil”, from June 2013 until impeachment in 2016. She highlights sociopolitical subjects (movements), repertoires, political-ideological currents and the current political culture, analyzing more specifically three “brand new” movements: Passe Livre (MPL), Vem Pra Rua (VPR) and Brasil Livre (MBL), with different sociopolitical and ideological profiles, arising from autonomism or liberalism. The author also focuses on protests in the field of education, especially the occupations of public schools.

The Unicamp professor divides social movements into the classics (union, student, fight for land, for a roof over their heads); the new ones, who came together in the clash against the military regime (pastoralists, alternative unionism, racial, environmental, community); and the very new ones that emerged especially since 2013, which share beliefs and values ​​in a virtual environment, where horizontality and autonomy predominate, with no previous ties to new or classic movements

“I try to map out all these movements, understand their identity, what values ​​they brought and, at the same time, separate them to verify, in this identity, what unites them and what differentiates them, how they were articulated”, explains the teacher from Unicamp. “Considering the classic and new movements, grouped together in the Frente Brasil Popular and the Frente Povo sem Medo, we reached 100 social movements (including unions and support organizations). And, on the other side, along with the very young ones, I mapped around 30 movements: in addition to the MPL, which is more isolated from the autonomists, we have Vem Pra Rua, Brasil Livre and then the collectives that don’t appear as much in the demonstrations.”

Maria da Glória Gohn divides the book into three parts: the first is theoretical-methodological, in which she works on categories such as crowd, people, political culture, mobilization, social movement, collectives; the second part is about the manifestations themselves; and the third brings a small rescue of the struggles for education. “These fights come from the 20s of the last century, through the 50s and then the 'painted faces'. I point out as a certain novelty the issue of high school students, who inherited this name from the struggles of the 50s and 60s (coming from the old, classical, scientific gymnasiums). This recent eruption was triggered by local issues, but as they also seek to drink from movements in Chile, Argentina and other countries, we see something bigger, which is the autonomists.”


From the streets to the polls?

The forum “From the streets to the polls?”, promoted by Cecult at the Convention Center, sought to discuss the series of political, institutional and economic instabilities, conflicts and uncertainties that have marked the Brazilian democratic experience since June 2013 – and how citizens see and participate in this process. Political polarizations and contradictions observed in opinion polls, on social networks, in the media, on the streets and also in elections were discussed, around topics such as the political crisis and its management, the expansion or reduction of rights, the conduct of political public and social inequalities.

Another aspect raised in the round tables is that, despite the effervescence of these political demonstrations, there were high rates of abstention and invalid votes in the last municipal elections, which would represent a message from public opinion to politicians and government officials, revealing disbelief or protest. Participating in the first table – “State actions: perceptions, actions and reactions of citizens” – were exhibitors Carolina Raquel Duarte de Mello Justo (UFSCar), Maria da Glória Gohn (Unicamp) and Wagner de Melo Romão (Unicamp). The afternoon table – “From values ​​to political attitudes: electoral implications of perceptions about Brazilian democracy and media performance” – had the participation of Claudio Couto (FGV-SP), João Feres Junior (UFRJ), Katia Nishimura (PUC- Campinas) and Nara Pavão (UFPE). The moderator of both tables was Fabíola Brigante Del Porto, doctor from Cesop and organizer of the event.

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Professor Maria da Glória Gohn

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