New right or old wine in new regimens? The conservative trajectory in Brazil in the last century

Abstract

The electoral victory of Jair Bolsonaro surprised the world in 2018 not just as an unknown candidate from a small party but considering what he said about women, African descendants, homosexuals and an outdated anticommunism from the Cold War. An alliance among pragmatic military, neoliberals and religious conservatives. But this is not a surprise in the academic world. This article try to show how since the third decade in the XX century authoritarians and conservatives are part of the political scene in Brazil, present both in National Congress and elites. The hypothesis in this work is that a new far right government is not a political break, but results from a long trajectory. Using data from World Values Survey and analysis of political thought in the last century, the cultural background in the election of Bolsonaro is discussed. Conclusion is with a conservative tradition based in religion and authoritarian political values Bolsonaro can be evaluated as more of the same and not as rupture.