A Fragile Democracy without democratic values: Brazil in the 21st century

Abstract

Jair Bolsonaro’s election in 2018 shocked academic and political circles. However, if we look back at Brazil’s historical and political trajectory, his election should not come as a surprise. We discuss, based on the concept of hybrid political culture, the election of Bolsonaro as a reflection of the fragility of Brazilian democracy. Based on the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from the Seventh Wave of World Values Survey collected in 2018 and 2019, we characterize the political culture of Brazilians as authoritarian and conservative, despite a general support for the democratic idea. This political culture has contributed to the development of an inertial democracy that is not sustained in democratic values. Political history also shows that Brazilian politics has a pattern of instability. Our conclusions indicate that democracy remains fragile in Brazil due to its non-democratic values, exacerbated by the election of a president who clearly defends an authoritarian outcome.