Authoritarian Neoliberalism and Gender Based Violence: notes on the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil
Keywords:
authoritarian neoliberalism, neoconservatism, gender-based violence, Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, Covid-19Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic can be discussed from the perspective of how different countries reacted to the public health crisis. In Brazil, in particular, we witnessed an increase in gender-based violence (GBV) cases. Focusing on the rise of authoritarian neoliberalism, this essay analyzes how the arrival of Jair Bolsonaro in the presidency has impacted on the development of GBV policies. Firstly, we discuss a significant change in rightist collective action, with a shift in the public debate from socioeconomic to sociocultural terms. Secondly, considering the aversion to the constitutional protection of minority groups as a central element of this social and political stance, we maintain that GBV has been an important battlefield for feminist activists and movements. Thirdly, we observe different solutions proposed by regional governments and civil society in an exceptional context of demobilization in the country. Finally, taking Bolsonaro's Brazil as an example, we draw some considerations of an ongoing research agenda. This essay advances the literature on GBV in Brazil in its intersection with authoritarian neoliberalism, but also in epidemics and crisis conjectures.
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