During the past few years, social media probably mislead us into thinking the Overton Window had shifted our way. It hasn’t.
The Trump and Bolsonaro presidencies should be evidence of this, but half-way through them we leaned toward delusions of progress. Delusions such as thinking that going viral is a reliable measure of mainstream political inclinations.
Leftists around the world were concerned about Bolsonaro’s decision to fire Mandetta, the Minister of Health, over social distancing measures. Infuriating? Sure. Surprising? No. This president has succeeded in shifting the Overton Window so far right that super-centrists sound like they are pledging allegiance to the Soviet Union.
Super-centrist Rodrigo Maia, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, spoke to CNN about wealth redistribution while Bolsonaro attacked him for not having a green and yellow heart (not being a Patriot). A more Patriotic response to this pandemic would be giving a tax break to companies that hire young people (from 18 to 29) and people over 55. This plan, which is coincidently (?) called Green and Yellow, is now being used as retaliation by the Senate by being removed, or handed over to the Leftist Opposition. Either way — it’s a finger sliding right to left across the neck.
General Braga Netto, the Chief of Staff for the Presidency, opposed the decision to fire Mandetta, and caused a ruckus a few weeks ago by “leaking” that he was Brazil’s “acting president” to Argentinean army officials. That is clearly not the case, the elected one is a deranged alpha-male well past his prime (much like Trump but with less money) who would not take such gossip lightly. Getting rid of Mandetta is just the beginning, he will assert his dominance by going after those who defended the minister too.
Comparing Brazil to the United States is inevitable. Bolsonaro (aka like Trump but broke), said we can’t afford to not go back to work, because we are not as rich as the US and can’t let our debt inflate another billion reais. Maia, on the other hand, said that what we can’t afford is to make the same mistakes as the US and get to the point of over one thousand deaths in a day.
The most interesting thing he said, though, was that this whole discussion is just a distraction. A distraction from the fact that the Minister of Health was fired in the middle of a major Global Health crisis, causing widespread uncertainty and anxiety to well “over 80% of the population”. The last thing both of them want is for the population to lose faith in them and in the institutions that guarantee their power. Mandetta, for instance, considered the Military Police essential workers. That’s right, this guy is apparently a radical leftist to Brazilian standards.
Chances are — we will be satisfied to get 600 reais as emergency basic income, and be forced to get back to work before we are eligible for it again in May. Caring about people’s lives means caring about their potential to generate income, to the extent to which they can generate profits for someone else. According to our commander-in-chief, letting the masses work means caring for their well-being, something a centrist Minister of Health isn’t equipped to oversee.
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text: Mirna Wabi-Sabi